Archive for February, 2015

Who Are ISIS and What Are Their Goals?

A long read from The Atlantic but well worth it:

Our ignorance of the Islamic State is in some ways understandable: It is a hermit kingdom; few have gone there and returned. Baghdadi has spoken on camera only once. But his address, and the Islamic State’s countless other propaganda videos and encyclicals, are online, and the caliphate’s supporters have toiled mightily to make their project knowable. We can gather that their state rejects peace as a matter of principle; that it hungers for genocide; that its religious views make it constitutionally incapable of certain types of change, even if that change might ensure its survival; and that it considers itself a harbinger of—and headline player in—the imminent end of the world.

We have misunderstood the nature of the Islamic State in at least two ways. First, we tend to see jihadism as monolithic, and to apply the logic of al‑Qaeda to an organization that has decisively eclipsed it. The Islamic State supporters I spoke with still refer to Osama bin Laden as “Sheikh Osama,” a title of honor. But jihadism has evolved since al-Qaeda’s heyday, from about 1998 to 2003, and many jihadists disdain the group’s priorities and current leadership.

 

, , , , , , , , , , ,

No Comments

Texas Senator Cornyn Introduces Federal Reciprocity Bill

From GunsSaveLives.com:

Think of it like this – if you have a driver’s license in your home state, you can use that anywhere in the country, however, you still have to follow any state driving laws in other states. Just because your state allows right turns on red doesn’t mean another state does too.

Cornyn’s Senate website:

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) today introduced the bipartisan Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2015, which would allow individuals with concealed carry privileges in their home state to exercise those rights in any other state that also has concealed carry laws, while abiding by that state’s concealed carry laws. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), John Thune (R-SD) and David Vitter (R-LA) are the lead cosponsors of the bill.

, , , , , ,

No Comments

MAC on ATF Banning Rifle Ammunition

, , , , , , , , ,

No Comments

Energy Companies on the Frontline of Cyber Defense

From Oil & Gas Monitor:

At the heart of every oil and gas company are industrial control systems (ICS) and other operational technologies (OT) designed to efficiently, reliably, and safely process the extraction, refinement, and distribution of large quantities of fuel needed to keep global economies moving. Initially, OT systems were seen as immune to cyber security threats due to their separation from corporate IT.

However, in today’s hyper connected world, this approach is no longer realistic. In recognition of the cyber threats facing the energy sector, the U.S. Department of Energy issued its cyber security framework implementation guide earlier this year. It is designed to support organizations in the energy sector establish or align existing cyber security risk management programs to meet the objectives of the Cybersecurity Framework released by the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST) in February 2014.

 

, , , , ,

No Comments

Compact Sniper Rifle Requested by Army

From KitUp:

In June 2014, the Army released a request for proposal to invite gun companies to build compact versions of the service’s 7.62mm M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System. The CSASS program did not receive any funding in the Army’s approved fiscal 2015 budget.

, , ,

No Comments

DARPA Ground X-Vehicle

, ,

No Comments

Future Helicopter Prototypes to Fly in 2017

From NextBigFuture.com:

The Army wants to reinvent the very idea of rotorcraft, with a new propulsion concept. After the flight tests and technology development, JMR will end and a Request for Proposals (RFP) will be issued open to all companies to begin the projected $100 billion FVL effort. Demonstrators developed under JMR will be “X-planes” to demonstrate some key technologies, but they won’t have production-representative engines or real mission systems architecture; JMR will show off technologies to enable Army rotary-wing aviation to make the next leap in speed, lift, protection, and interoperability under FVL for the 2030s. The program is intentionally slow paced to avoid past program failures.

Although requirements are still being refined, the notional concept for a new aircraft must reach speeds of 230 kn (260 mph; 430 km/h), carry up to 12 troops, operate in “high-hot” conditions at altitudes of 6,000 ft (1,800 m) and temperatures of 95-degrees Fahrenheit, and have a combat radius of 424 km (263 mi) with an overall unrefueled range of 848 km (527 mi).

, , , , ,

No Comments

M855 5.56 Ammo To Be Banned By ATF?

From Bearing Arms:

SS109/M855 is one of the two most common loadings for 5.56 NATO chambered AR-15 rifles, featuring a 62-grain bullet with a mild steel penetrator core. The cartridge was adopted by NATO in the late 1970s to give soldiers better long range performance, and reduce the possibility of fragmentation seen in the prior 55-grain M193 round cartridge that some viewed as “inhuman” and “devastating.” Civilian shooters like it because it is accurate, plentiful, and relatively economical to shoot.

ATF letter here

, , , , , , , , ,

No Comments

Guns and Herd Immunity

From PJ Media:

Crime rates in Chicago dropped dramatically in 2014 after the state of Illinois allowed legal concealed carry. From the Washington Times:

[T]he number of robberies that have led to arrests in Chicago has declined 20 percent from last year, according to police department statistics. Reports of burglary and motor vehicle theft are down 20 percent and 26 percent, respectively. In the first quarter, the city’s homicide rate was at a 56-year low.

, , , , , ,

No Comments

Vermont is Pro Gun

From US News:

One of the most liberal states in the country also is one of the most passionate about defending the right to bear arms, a fact that is coming to the fore following proposed legislation to expand background checks and add other gun regulations.

Hundreds of Vermont residents are expected to pack the state House chamber for a public hearing Tuesday night on Senate Bill 31, which would expand background checks from retail to private gun sales, step up reporting about people deemed psychologically unfit to have a gun and add state jurisdiction to what is now just federal enforcement of the ban on convicted felons possessing guns.

, , , ,

No Comments

SureFire 60 Round Mag Disassembly/Reassembly

SureFire 60 round mag

, , , , ,

No Comments

Ban on Out of State Gun Purchases Unconstitutional

From The Washington Times:

A federal district court in Texas ruled residency requirements for pistol purchases is unconstitutional, directly challenging Attorney General Eric Holder who has argued the federal ban on handguns outside of a person’s state of residence doesn’t violate the second amendment.

, , , ,

No Comments

Pocket Med Kits From CLEER Medical

CLEER Medical has two kits that are bare bones med kits:

The EDC Pocket Kit

The Minimalist Pocket Kit

, , , ,

No Comments

Kansas and Oklahoma Luring Firearms Manufacturers

From NewsOK.com:

A bill at the Oklahoma Legislature this upcoming session has set its sights on luring new gun manufacturers to the state by making Oklahoma-made weapons exempt from federal laws.

, , , ,

No Comments

14 Dead on Texas-Mexico Border

From Brietbart.com:

The recent fighting left the residents of the Mexican border cities of Matamoros and Reynosa on edge as large convoys of cartel gunmen raced down the city’s avenues to set up blockades on the main entrances into the respective cities. Over three days the blockades have sporadically exploded into fierce rolling gun battles with convoys of gunmen raining gunfire and explosives on their rivals.

The fighting has been so intense that both the U.S. Consulate in Matamoros and that city’s Mayor Leticia Salazar issued warnings to the public giving some of the locations of the fighting and advising residents to stay indoors.

 

, , , ,

No Comments