Shooting Illustrated.

Is your personal security worth the price of 3 seconds? Based on interviews with perpetrators who are now sitting behind bars, the most common denominator of victim selection is found to be an “unsuspecting victim.” That is, someone unaware of his or her surroundings and unsuspecting of a pending—potentially lethal—attack. This observable unawareness clearly labels you as a potential victim. You can think of this as a giant blinking neon sign pointing directly at you, reading “PICK ME” in the eyes of an attacker.

[ … ]

Situational awareness amounts to nothing more than observing your environment. We have a tendency to have our faces buried in our smartphones, texting or talking and completely detached from our immediate environment. From the predator’s perspective, this is equivalent to watching an ostrich with its head in the sand—easy prey.

[ … ]

Keeping a few medical supplies on hand could save your life or the life of another. A basic gunshot-wound (GSW)-trauma kit, including a tourniquet, combat gauze, control elastic wrap, chest seal and a space blanket should comprise the basics. The form/size of your kit should be a factor in your consideration. Is it compact enough for everyday carry? Will you carry it in your purse, in your car, keep one at your office?

Bottom line with a GSW kit is to win the fight, “stop the bleeding, help them breathe, warm not freeze and get ready to leave.”

[ … ]

Failing to create space, the defensive “A” answer, your very next option is to use whatever physical means at your disposal to get yourself into a position so that you can get out of danger with the least degree of injury. Inescapably, the one-word description for this is to fight.

Fighting is not easy. Fighting is not pretty. Fighting is pure violence of action. It transcends all language and cultural barriers. It requires full mental and physical commitment. It may be throwing a hammer at your assailant’s head or a scalding-hot pot of coffee in their face or slamming the point of scissors into your attacker’s left eye to cause a distraction. Whatever it takes to immediately fight your way out is always better than the alternative.

A few practical tips and pointers.  The best of all to me is, “Stay away from crowds.”  Don’t drive into it.  Find another way home, or to church, or wherever.

This should be a decent smattering of indication.

Still daylight in Louisville, Ky. & BLM rioters are already targeting businesses. pic.twitter.com/qI1zT20nqX

— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) September 23, 2020

Regg says they shot AT the cops, not in the air, massive amount of police are moving in & ambulance arriving on scene – possible guys with guns running, I am having trouble keeping up #Louisville pic.twitter.com/qSEhpLsGxr

— Kitty Shackleford (@KittyLists) September 24, 2020

BLM surrounding and sitting on Police vehicles as they try to move through the area
Louisville, KY pic.twitter.com/5lGkRDzXqY

— Kitty Shackleford (@KittyLists) September 23, 2020

Via WRSA, this video is highly worth watching.  I had sent a note to Attorney John Pierce advising him that he needed to hire a very good media firm to capture all of the media before it was gone, and build it together into a true narrative to combat the lies.  It looks like he took my advice.

News from Pennsylvania.

A meeting of “like-minded and able-bodied” lovers of “freedom” and “the 2nd Amendment” from Mountain Top has been canceled after police raised concerns about what sounded like the formation of a militia.

Police spoke to the organizer of the event Tuesday morning about their concerns based on a newspaper notice announcing the event and the man agreed to cancel the Sept. 29 meeting, Wright Twp. Police Chief Royce Engler said.

“He was originally going to start a crime watch program. But the way that was worded, it didn’t sound like it was going to be a crime watch to us,” Engler said. “So we put a stop to that.”

The notice was published in the free Mountain Peaks Newspaper’s Sept. 17-30 edition.

Addressed to “all Mountain Top residents ages 21 to 65,” the notice urged interested parties to sign up at the banquet room at King’s Ristorante and Pizzeria at 49 S. Mountain Blvd. the night of Sept. 29.

“Are you concerned about violence in the streets, mob rule, public safety, family safety, destruction of property and these things coming to our community?” the notice says. “Do you love America, God, and the 2nd Amendment? Support our police and want a safe community for your children and family to live in? Do you love American freedom as we have known it? If you are like-minded and able bodied, please join this cause in a proactive approach forming a Mountain Top Watch community to prepare for the unthinkable, which has already become a reality in many cities.”

Fairview Twp. police Chief Phil Holbrook said he had concerns about the wording of the notice and that he felt it sent the wrong message.

“He originally approached us about starting a crime watch, and we were all for that. A crime watch is a good thing, a good idea. The way he worded things, it obviously got a lot of people concerned and upset,” Holbrook said. “I think he just worded it wrong. From everything he said, I don’t think he was looking to start anything like a militia, or do anything like that. I think he just maybe worded it a little aggressively.”

The announcement of a Mountain Top Watch organization comes as a group of local youths has been working to hold a Black Lives Matter rally on the mountain.

Engler said he suspects the group’s formation was motivated by the rally, which has been in the planning stages for weeks.

Rally organizer Thomas Beurmann, 18, of Rice Twp., said he took the notice as a call to arms and a threat against his group’s efforts.

“It definitely seemed scary,” he said. “People (on Facebook) are saying that if something happens they’re going to go out with their guns and protect businesses and stuff, so just to see that it’s being organized was definitely a little scary.”

There are a number of significant failings here.  First of all, under 10 US Code 246, the militia exists, has a right to such, is legal, and the police chief had absolutely no right to interfere.

Second, the organizer had no right to back down because of this interference.  Third, the organizer should never have gone to the police to begin with.  It’s none of their business.

Fourth, I want to know what it means to have “put a stop” to the meetup.  What did the police chief do?  Is there a potential lawsuit here?

Fifth, given prog police chiefs like this, probably with “we’re special because we’re the police” officers working for him, any militia in this area should work more discretely and clandestinely.

Finally, give how spooked the people in this area are from mild-mannered wording like this man used, they’re light years from being prepared for what’s coming their direction.

David Kopel.

International homicide statistics usually only count murders by individuals or small groups. A serial killer may murder two dozen people over the course of many years. A mass shooter may murder dozens at once. Those who use explosives or arson sometimes kill even more. But even in the aggregate, individual criminals or criminal gangs perpetrate vastly less homicide than do criminal governments.

In Europe in the 20th century, governments killed about 87.1 million victims, according to research by the late University of Hawaii political scientist R.J. Rummel. That figure does not include combat deaths, such as in World War I or II. It includes only the murder of civilians, from 61.9 million killed by the Soviet Union to 20.9 million killed by Germany. Over the long run, one’s risk of being murdered is much lower in the United States than in Europe. It’s no surprise that migration between the two has always been very heavily in one direction!

[ … ]

Rummel found that the less free the government, the more likely it is to perpetrate domestic mass murder. Totalitarian regimes perpetrate by far the most; authoritarian regimes less so; and democratic ones least of all. Indeed, no democratic government has committed large-scale murder against a population that was able to vote.

[ … ]

In 1942, Adolf Hitler explained the necessity of disarming his victims: “The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subjugated races to possess arms. History shows that all conquerors who have allowed their subjugated races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by so doing. Indeed, I would go so far as to say that the supply of arms to the underdogs is a sine qua non for the overthrow of any sovereignty. So let’s not have any native militia or native police.”

Dave is following up what I’ve seen him write (and I’ve linked) elsewhere.  But all of this stands to be repeated, over and over again.

The God-given right to bear arms is about self defense and defense of home, hearth and property.  Defense from thieves, invaders and tyrannical governments.

I’m sorry this isn’t normal
Any thoughts?#FoxAndFriends #MorningJoe #MAGA #Ccot#Trump2020LandslideVictory #KAG #KAG2020 #RememberInNovember #TuesdayThoughts

pic.twitter.com/egOuvmtA3B

— Rad123 (@Tombx7M) September 22, 2020

They’re lamenting the fact that there is a small possibility that they won’t get to sacrifice their children to Baal.  These women should be told to shut up, go the kitchen and make a sandwich.

Michael Yon is back in the states from Thailand.  His recent Patreon entry is fascinating and informative.

When you are assessing the situation in your area, Watch the Graffiti.  Make photographs.  Remember what you can.  Valuable.

As I travel through America, I will make thousands of photos of graffiti.  Watch for patterns.

Example: if I see certain graffiti in Seattle, and then see same again in DC, but nowhere else, that can be a clue.

Don’t just walk by graffiti.  That’s like walking past the prints and poo on the jungle floor without stopping when you are tiger hunting.

Often I just photograph close and also establishing shots for later study.

In this case, I stopped here in Portland to photograph.  This fellow quickly arrived and started talking about 9th Amendment, and Veteran issues.  He was aggressive, erratic, rambling like the graffiti.  He began to read for me.  Unfortunately, I did not think to ask if he wrote this.

Bottom line: this is just near the Federal Courthouse that has been attacked for about 100 days.  Many police casualties.

This scribbling is par for the base-level art and messaging in the area.  This area has the most primitive protest-graffiti I have seen in my years of war and conflict, including hundreds of violent protests, some far more violent than here.

The finest messaging I have seen has been Hong Kong, and Thailand.  You knew exactly what they wanted.  Specifically.  Not some general ramble or idea like “justice,” or “black lives matter,” or “anti-fascist.”  In Hong Kong, as example, it was FIVE DEMANDS NOT ONE LESS.  And they would list those specific demands.  Clear,  concise, and memorable.  Bite sized for meme-ability.

I watched many live stream videos of the fighting in Portland before I got here.  I still have little idea what they want after watching for several months.  In Thailand or Hong Kong, you’d know specifics in 5-10 minutes.

In 2020, I have not seen a single person analyse this graffiti.  If you have, Please leave a comment.  I want to see their findings and opinions.

I’m not aware of any analysis of the graffiti in Portland other than Michael’s.  This caused me to pause and consider what he said for a few minutes.  Allow me to extrapolate if I may.

These people are homeless, drug addled, mentally and spiritually ill and vacuous, perhaps combined with under-educated liberal arts majors who have never been held to account by a single professor, paid by outside provocateurs (like George Soros).  “Here’s another $100, do it again tonight, and come back and I’ll pay your drug or food money or apartment expenses again.”

None of these people work for a living.  None of these people can construct coherent sentences, or even coherent, meaningful art.  The images in their head are completely incongruous, mixed up and messed up, with no thoughtful or considered theoretical framework.  The people in Hong Kong, Thailand or virtually anywhere else can do better than this.

By the way, I give a little to Michael and you should consider that too.

Yea it’s slow compared to today’s standards, but I want one.  I’ve always wanted one since I was a kid.

Survival Blog.

Many times, I’ve heard it suggested that restrictions on privately-owned sidearms developed because of Declaration III of the Hague Convention, which banned the use of expanding (mushrooming) bullets. The U.S. government has never been a signatory to that portion of the Hague Convention, but we’ve largely abided by it. Although we do have a penchant for military shotguns, which many European military leaders consider “barbaric.”  And most recently, the U.S. Army adopted a hollowpoint 9mm cartridge.

[ … ]

In later conflicts, the tradition of POWs for aviators continued, with many willfully flouting regulations. In addition to sidearms for personal protection, many pilots and other aircrewmen carried .22 rimfire guns, for hunting small game, in case they were shot down in a remote area. The Air Force had officially-issued “Survival Guns” which were available in just small numbers. But many pilots carried their own .22 pistols–most commonly those made by Hi-Standard, or Colt Woodsman pistols.

American servicemen in the Vietnam War had a fairly large number of privately-owned weapons. These were either guns from home, or captured weapons, or a variety of guns bought on the black market from ARVN soldiers. The “status symbol” guns for both aviators and ground troops were .357 magnum revolvers.  In some instances, soldiers would have family members mail them handguns or disassembled long guns. These were mostly riot shotguns, But a few soldiers asked for  — and received via mail — their trusty .30-30 Winchester carbines. To 21st Century readers this might sound hard to believe, but it really happened.

And from the comments there is this.

I had a friend who was in Viet Nam in 1968-69 and carried his personal S&W .357mag. His parents sent him several boxes of .357 HP ammo in the mail and the military stopped the delivery and sent the ammo back to his parents. The military included a letter to his parents telling them NOT to send their son anymore ammo, that they would supply him and that hollow point ammo was not allowed due to the Hague Convention, which you were right, the US did not sign that part of.

Finally, to close out the study James writes this.

In my opinion, any active duty or reserve officer or NCO should be able to carry whatever weapon he pleases, on-post or off-post, and whether deployed or stateside. But regulations say otherwise.

It’s difficult for me to see how logistics officers could possibly handle any weapon, any caliber, and a multitude of parts for those weapons.  But it seems to have worked in the past.

I agree with one commenter, who said that “I didn’t think I’d find this interesting” but I did.  I did too, very much so.  In fact, I’ve asked before – to no avail – for pictures of revolvers used in either OIF or OEF.  I do have one picture of a 1911 carried by a general in Afghanistan, who can of course carry anything he wants.

Also, I confess that I didn’t know that until the advent of the M17 that the U.S. military shot ball rounds.  I did know that, for example, John Basilone killed all those enemy troops with an M2 and a 1911 shooting ball ammunition.

But I didn’t know that we were still using ball ammo in OEF and OIF.  Can veterans confirm this?