Archive for September, 2014

Russian Aircraft Intercepted Near Alaska

From Christian Science Monitor:

Lt. Col. Michael Jazdyk, a spokesman for the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, said the U.S. jets intercepted the planes about 55 nautical miles (88 kilometers) from the Alaskan coast at about 7 p.m. Pacific time Wednesday.

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MQ-4C Triton in Flight Testing Over U.S.

From ArsTechnica:

The drone is just the first piece in what the Navy calls Broad Area Maritime Surveillance, or BAMS. The MQ-4C Triton will be used to keep tabs on a wide area using “radar, infrared sensors and advanced cameras to provide full-motion video and photographs to the military,” according to The Washington Post. Eventually, a network of these drones could be deployed to fly around the world and provide 24-hour, 7-day-a-week coverage of a given area.

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Billy Johnson: Santa Barbara Stabber

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The Islamic Threat: Even Bill Maher Gets It

From Fox News:

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Opinion Polls Show Support For Guns at Kroger, Panera

From Examiner.com:

The MSNBC poll asking whether Kroger shoppers should be allowed to carry handguns was coming in with 85 percent in favor and only 15 percent opposed. A CNBC poll on the Panera Bread decision was running at 84 percent support forgun rights and 11 percent against. An MSNBC poll on the Panera Bread request was also coming in at 75 percent in favor of armed customers, and 25 percent against guns.

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NY Gun Store Forced To Give Sales Records To Police Under S.A.F.E. Act

From Townhall:

A SWAT team raided co-owner Joe Palumbo’s Albion Gun Shop without a warrant. They were acting on orders from the Narcotics Enforcement Unit, who asked the shop to hand over a customer list so they could determine how many people had purchased New York SAFE Act compliant rifles. The gun owner was forced to present approximately 170 sales records. Under the state’s anti-gun law, this intrusion was completely legal.

Critics claim that exchanges such as these prove that the SAFE Act is arbitrary and confusing:

“The New York S.A.F.E. Act is being enforced arbitrarily on a case by case basis,” Tresmond said. “That amounts to unconstitutional vagueness under the Supreme Court’s Morales standard, and the law should be enjoined for that reason alone.”

 

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Two Austrian Girls Join ISIS

From IJR:

The girls’ parents are reportedly from Iraq. The Austrian Interior Minister confirmed that two more teenage girls have departed Austria to take up the cause of jihad in the Middle East. The Daily Mail reports that 130 such jihadist sympathizers have departed Austria to fight in the “holy war.”

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Natalie Foster: Expect The Unexpected

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Illegal Kills 2, Escapes Prison and Deportation

From Fox News:

Cynthia Garcia-Cisneros, an illegal immigrant, recently had her immigration case dismissed, despite the fact that she was convicted of two felonies for a hit-and-run that resulted in the tragic deaths of two young girls.

From Oregon Live:

KGW reports that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement released the 19-year-old from custody on Aug. 14 after an immigration judge dismissed her case. The news station credited KXL radio as the first outlet to report on her release.

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The Virtue of Subtlety: A U.S. Strategy Against the Islamic State

The Virtue of Subtlety: A U.S. Strategy Against the Islamic State is republished with permission of Stratfor.”

By George Friedman

U.S. President Barack Obama said recently that he had no strategy as yet toward the Islamic State but that he would present a plan on Wednesday. It is important for a president to know when he has no strategy. It is not necessarily wise to announce it, as friends will be frightened and enemies delighted. A president must know what it is he does not know, and he should remain calm in pursuit of it, but there is no obligation to be honest about it.

This is particularly true because, in a certain sense, Obama has a strategy, though it is not necessarily one he likes. Strategy is something that emerges from reality, while tactics might be chosen. Given the situation, the United States has an unavoidable strategy. There are options and uncertainties for employing it. Let us consider some of the things that Obama does know.

The Formation of National Strategy

There are serious crises on the northern and southern edges of the Black Sea Basin. There is no crisis in the Black Sea itself, but it is surrounded by crises. The United States has been concerned about the status of Russia ever since U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt negotiated the end of the Russo-Japanese war in 1905. The United States has been concerned about the Middle East since U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower forced the British to retreat from Suez in 1956. As a result, the United States inherited — or seized — the British position. Read the rest of this entry »

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SureFire Adds Two IR-Capable WeaponLights to Its X-Series Lineup

Fountain Valley, CA — SureFire, LLC, manufacturer of high-end illumination tools and tactical products, has
released two new models as part of its X-Series family of WeaponLights designed for handguns but can also
be mounted to long guns with Picatinny rails. The versatile X300®V and X400®V IRc feature SureFire’s
ingenious V-Series head, a sealed, selectable head that contains both a white-light and infrared LED inside,
to accommodate missions requiring visible and virtually non-visible (to the naked eye) illumination. By
simply pushing and rotating a self-locking selector switch on the head, a user can switch from white-light to
IR illumination (for use with night vision devices) on the fly, with no infrared filter required. The X400 model
even boasts an infrared laser.
The X300V generates 150 lumens of blinding, tactical-level light on its white-light setting and 120 mW of
infrared illumination when set to IR mode. Light output from either mode is shaped by a proprietary optic—
a Total Internal Reflection (TIR) lens—into a high-intensity beam with significant reach and sufficient
peripheral illumination for maintaining situational awareness, crucial in military, law enforcement, and
home-defense applications.
The highly anticipated X400V IRc generates the same high-intensity beam at identical outputs in white light
and infrared as the X300V, but it also features a commercially available <0.7 mW infrared laser sight,
suitable for force-on-force training and ideal for stealth operations using night vision devices. As with all
laser-equipped SureFire X400® WeaponLights, the X400V IRc’s laser-adjustment mechanism uses Nylok®
screws that won’t back out from the effects of recoil. And because the IR laser is not visible to the naked
eye, an amber-colored LED indicator illuminates whenever the laser is on, to help prevent unintended
activation.
Like all X-Series WeaponLights, these new models are constructed of lightweight aerospace aluminum
that’s hard anodized with a Mil-Spec finish and are O-ring and gasket sealed for added durability and
weather resistance. The X300V weighs in at less than four ounces—including the weight of the two 123A
lithium batteries that power it—while the X400V model is just under five ounces fully loaded, so neither
model weighs down a weapon. One-finger activation is achieved via a push/toggle switch located on the
rear of both lights; optional DG pistol grip and long-gun remote tape switching is also available. Both
models attach quickly and securely to both Universal and MIL-STD-1913 (Picatinny) rails, and optional
SureFire adapter mounts are available for several popular rail-less handgun makes and models.
The X300V has an MSRP of $389, while the X400V IRc retails for $875. They are currently available for
purchase through authorized SureFire dealers or will soon be available direct from SureFire by calling 800-
828-8809 or by visiting www.surefire.com online.
About SureFire
Located in Fountain Valley, California, SureFire, LLC is the leading manufacturer of high performance
flashlights, weapon-mounted lights, and other tactical equipment for those who go in harm’s way, or
anyone who demands the ultimate in quality, innovation, and performance. SureFire illumination tools are
used by more SWAT teams and elite special operations groups than any other brand. SureFire is an ISO
9001:2000-certified company.
Press Contact: Thomas Carlson: tcarlson@surefire.com

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NRA: Work Ethic

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President Caps Military Pay

From MOAA:

On August 29, President Obama sent a letter notifying Congress that he is using his authority under law to cap the active duty military pay raise at 1 percent in 2015.

Typically the active duty pay raise is determined by private sector wage growth, measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Cost Index (ECI). The ECI calls for a 1.8 percent pay raise in 2015.

However, the President has executive authority to make an alternative pay adjustment if he considers it necessary due to national emergency or economic concerns.

Is there a national emergency or economic crises that I didn’t know about?

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NRA Women: Using a Light With a Firearm

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Ukraine, Iraq and a Black Sea Strategy

Ukraine, Iraq and a Black Sea Strategy is republished with permission of Stratfor.”

By George Friedman

The United States is, at the moment, off balance. It faces challenges in the Syria-Iraq theater as well as challenges in Ukraine. It does not have a clear response to either. It does not know what success in either theater would look like, what resources it is prepared to devote to either, nor whether the consequences of defeat would be manageable.

A dilemma of this sort is not unusual for a global power. Its very breadth of interests and the extent of power create opportunities for unexpected events, and these events, particularly simultaneous challenges in different areas, create uncertainty and confusion. U.S. geography and power permit a degree of uncertainty without leading to disaster, but generating a coherent and integrated strategy is necessary, even if that strategy is simply to walk away and let events run their course. I am not suggesting the latter strategy but arguing that at a certain point, confusion must run its course and clear intentions must emerge. When they do, the result will be the coherence of a new strategic map that encompasses both conflicts.  Read the rest of this entry »

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