Sunday, March 9, 2014

Knife fighting, avoid it if you can.

Via avordvet

 

You bet your butt.

Avoid a knife fight if you can.  Or if you can't, bring a gun, or two guns, and a few friends with guns.

Over at John Mosby's the favorite "slash vs. stab" sort of conversation has come up, and John makes a very good point about slashes not being particularly lethal.

John is correct, most knives, no matter how impressive the blade, are not well suited to actual deep slashing the way a saber, scimitar, or katana is.  Of those three swords, I'm only familiar with the Japanese sword based martial arts to comment that the targets of those slashes are generally the femoral artery, gut, throat, brachial artery, and head.

So what follows is my personal thoughts, based on study and practice without ever getting into a swordfight or knife fight.  In fact, actively avoiding any sort of situation where I might get the experience that would make me a first hand expert.

Union: Obamacare will slash wages by up to $5 an hour

Via Knuckledraggin' My Life Away

 Donald Taylor, head of Unite Here, has been critical of Obamacare.


A national union that represents 300,000 low-wage hospitality workers charges in a new report that Obamacare will slam wages, cut hours, limit access to health insurance and worsen the very “income equality” President Obama says he is campaigning to fix.

Unite Here warned that due to Obamacare's much higher costs for health insurance than what union workers currently pay, the result will be a pay cut of up to $5 an hour. "If employers follow the incentives in the law, they will push families onto the exchanges to buy coverage. This will force low-wage service industry employees to spend $2.00, $3.00 or even $5.00 an hour of their pay to buy similar coverage," said the union in a new report.

                                                         More @ Washington Examiner

"Why do I have to work for RT to tell the truth about corporations and the U.S. government?"


After speaking out in opposition of Russia's invasion of Crimea, RT's Abby Martin spoke with CNN's Piers Morgan about corporate media and its kowtowing to advertisers.

The Crater

 Black troops attempt to break out of the Crater.

 "Some colored men came into the Crater  and there they found a fate worse than death in the charge . . . It has been positively asserted, that White men [Union] bayoneted Blacks who fell back into the Crater."
  
Twisted Facts and The Crater
Five hundred Union prisoners were taken, and 150 of these prisoners were USCT. Both the black and white wounded prisoners were taken to the Confederate hospital at Poplar Lawn in Petersburg.


 Senator William Mahone
Senator (General) Wm. Mahone  from the colored citizens of Virginia

A Record of Triumph Unsurpassed in Warfare
"The charge of three brigades of Mahone’s Division is a record of triumph unsurpassed in warfare.”
  

 

Two Hundred Fifty Against Fourteen Thousand
(*Major William S. Grady, Henry's Grady's father) Never Sparta had braver representatives or Thermopylae more courageous defense, yet North Carolina does not note how he died in her cause, or Virginia in her defense.

 *Henry W. Grady was born in Athens in 1850.  His father, Major William S. Grady, bought this house from the Taylor family in 1863 while on furlough from the Confederate Army.  Because renters were living in the house at the time, Major Grady went back to the war without moving his family and was later killed at the Battle of Petersburg in Virginia.  Henry Grady lived here from 1865, while he attended the University of Georgia, until 1868 when he graduated.  He once referred to the house as "an old southern home, with its lofty pillars, and its white pigeons fluttering down through the golden air."  Grady eventually became managing editor of the Atlanta Constitution and was known as an impressive orator.  In December, 1886, he delivered his " New South"

 (My mother had me memorize the short part of his speech above to recite in front of the UDC at the Marshall, Salem during the War, Baptist church in Virginia.)  

speech at the New England Club in New York City, whose members included prominent financial figures J. P. Morgan and Charles Tiffany.  He began his speech with a quote from fellow Georgian, Benjamin H. Hill, "There was a South of slavery and secession; that South is dead . . . a South of union and freedom; that South, thank God, is living, breathing, growing every hour," and his listeners responded with wild applause.  He became a national figure overnight, stressing in his speeches and writings the need for reconciliation and economic development.  At the age of 39, Henry Grady died of pneumonia in Atlanta.

******************************* 

On the warm morning of 30 July 1864 an enemy artillery barrage accompanied the massive explosion of a mine under Southern lines, followed by a subsequent assault.  The author below relates that “On the Confederate side men quietly sleeping were hurled into eternity, no moment of waking, reflection, or preparation, while their places were filled by the legions of invading [Northern] soldiery.” The surviving American soldiers repelled the enemy, though with heavy losses.
Bernhard Thuersam, Chairman
North Carolina War Between the States Sesquicentennial Commission
"Unsurpassed Valor, Courage and Devotion to Liberty"
"The Official Website of the North Carolina WBTS Sesquicentennial"


Impressed Sable Soldiers at the Crater

“Many an old Confederate, who had drawn a nice bead on a Yankee in more than a score of battles and skirmishes, could then swear to his man, and could swear to a bayonet crimsoned when before it had served only to glitter on dress parade.  The victory was with us, but dearly had we paid for it, for every company left more than half of its numbers among the dead or wounded.

Among the Negroes captured and sent back to the lines on Monday morning to assist in burying the dead was one who could scarcely speak English.  But in a conversation with the writer, in broken English, he told me that he was born in the West Indies, came to New York on a Spanish ship, got leave of absence to go on shore, got drunk, and when he recovered consciousness he was well on his way to Virginia, snugly buttoned up in a blue uniform and cooped up with a number of his race similarly conditioned. 

He lamented his fate in piteous tones, mingling English and Spanish in due proportion, and with the most emphatic language he declared that if he ever got out of this scrape the American Negro could work out his freedom without hope or expectation of further help from him.”

(Sgt. Thomas H. Cross, 16th Virginia Regiment; Philadelphia Weekly Times 5, No. 29, September 10, 1881; New Annals of the Civil War, Cozzins/Girardi, editors, Stackpole Books, 2004,  pp. 392-393)

Bowery Assault Victim Confident He’s A Victim Of ‘Knockout Game’

knockout victim 

 

Kyle Rogers woke up in an ambulance Sunday morning, completely unaware of the random attack that put him there.

 

The 23-year-old man and his parents then investigated, eventually tracking down surveillance video showing a man running up to Rogers and sucker-punching him before walking off.

Rogers, who broke his jaw and suffered facial lacerations, told CBS 2′s Jessica Schneider he’s positive he was a victim of a “knockout game” attack.

More with video @  CBS

For The Fifth Time In Two Weeks, A Detroit Homeowner Has Killed A Burglar

article_landing_shoot_11943

The criminals in Detroit aren’t getting any smarter, but they are getting a lot deader:

Another Detroit homeowner has shot and killed a burglar, George Hunter reports.

It’s at least the fifth such incident in recent weeks.

More @  Bearing Arms

NRA refused SCV ads

Via X13F  

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Dated, as  I forgot to post this when it occurred. 

 I'm going from the Nov/Dec (current) issue of Confederate Veteran.  Lt. Commander Charles Kelly Barrow's article "Stand Firm".

On page 9, the last paragraph in the first column says:

" A piece of disappointing news which needs to be shared with the membership deals with the NRA advertising.  Early this year I made contact with the NRA publications, thanks to Adjutant-in-Chief  Stephen Lee Ritchie, about running an ad in the "American Rifleman Magazine".  After going back and forth with the NRA, getting approval from the GEC to proceed, the ad, which has been in previous Confederate Veteran magazines, was accepted and submitted for the October issue.

By the end of August, the NRA representative contacted me to inform that the SCV ad had been rejected.  Needless to say, I was shocked.  When asked why, the reasoning was avoided by stating I would receiving a letter; however, I was told that it was primarily due "to the Paula Dean controversy".  Apparently the NRA thought they would receive bad press or controversy by allowing the ad.  Then I was informed there would be a meeting with the executive director next week, so the NRA representative encouraged me to submit another ad.  The advertisement which was submitted is in this magazine (page 51).  Unfortunately, this ad too was rejected.

I felt this ad would be acceptable to them, but again I was mistaken.  As a Life Member of the NRA, I am deeply disappointed in this organization whose belief is in your 2nd Amendment right; however, they deny your 1st right."
I typed this directly from the article and they are the words of the Lt. CIC Barrow.

Judge questions prosecution of mechanic who built rifle silencers for Navy Seals

Via Jeffery


A judge has questioned the viability of a prosecution against a man accused of illegally building hundreds of untraceable rifle silencers under what had been a secret contract with the Navy Seals.

At a pretrial hearing Friday, Judge Leonie Brinkema suggested that there may be classified evidence in the case that shows California race-car mechanic Mark Landersman had legitimate — but off-the-books — authorization to build the silencers from the Navy. If so, she said, she doubted that prosecutors could win their case.

More @ Fox

WWI: Hidden for 100 years, the astonishing photos by 16-year-old German soldier

Via WiscoDave
Carnage: Amid the appalling devastation and bodies of dead soldiers, a crucifix stands tall - miraculously preserved from the shell fire. The powerful image was captured after a bloody skirmish in 1917 - and Walter's son Volkmar says: 'This photograph is like an accusation - an accusation against war'

  •  

  • Captivating photographs taken by German soldier Walter Kleinfeldt who fought at the Somme aged just 16
  • The teenage soldier captured the reality of the front line for the German army with his Contessa camera
  • Kleinfeldt's photographs are seen for the first time, having been found by his son Volkmar just three years ago
  •  
  •  They lay forgotten in a dank cellar for almost a century. But these remarkable photos, published for the first time, give  a rare and uncensored view of the horrors of the First World War from behind enemy lines.

    They were taken by Walter Kleinfeldt who joined a German gun crew in 1915 and fought at the Somme aged just 16. As his haunting pictures, taken with a Contessa camera, make all too clear, life in the  trenches was a harrowing experience. The images provide an insight into the epic machinery of war – and capture the darkest moments of battle, with bodies strewn among the rubble.

    Returning home in 1918, Walter set up a photography shop in the town of Tubingen, where he worked until his death in 1945. Walter’s son Volkmar discovered the pictures three years ago.

    They are now the focus of a new BBC documentary. Director Nick Maddocks said: ‘It is rare to find such good-quality, honest and often beautiful  photos that show us war through the eyes of the soldier, particularly from one so young.’

    Hidden Histories: WW1’s Forgotten Photographs is on BBC4 on Thursday at 9pm.

    More @ Daily Mail
  • Past Boeing 777 autopilot problems raised

      

    AIRCRAFT manufacturing giant Boeing said yesterday it was too early to tell whether the missing Malaysian Airlines aircraft might have suffered autopilot problems that hit another of the carrier's 777 fleet in 2005.
     
    While aviation experts described both Malaysia Airlines and the Boeing 777 as having a solid safety record, an incident on a flight between Perth and Kuala Lumpur led to a safety alert being issued for 777s worldwide.

    In August 2005, a Malaysia Airlines 777 - the same model aircraft that is missing feared crashed - suddenly pitched up "violently" into a 3000-foot climb that almost forced it into an aerodynamic stall.
    A flight attendant began praying and another dropped a tray of drinks while pilots fought the autopilot system, which was being corrupted by a software error.

    An investigation by regulators determined the aircraft's "air data inertial reference unit" (ADIRU) - a device that sends data to the flight computer and autopilot - malfunctioned.


    *************************************


     Via LH



    Published on Mar 9, 2014
     
    Attention DPA,

    I am a retired Delta pilot. On 10 December, 2006 I informed FAA, FBI and NWA of the Boeing Uninterruptible Autopilot. It was used against Adam Air 574 in a manner consistent with the loss yesterday of the B777 enroute Kaula Lampur to China.

    Please advise me if Delta ALPA Safety Reps have educated the Delta Pilot Group of the BUAP that I forced Boeing to announce on 3 March, 2007 in response to my lawsuit filed against Boeing and ALPA of 27 February, 2007. That lawsuit was Civil Case 3:07-cv-24 and resulted in Boeing doing the right thing in announcing the deployment of the BUAP to be completed by March, 2009. Here is the article of Boeing's response to my lawsuit:

    New autopilot will make another 9/11 impossible

    My question to DPA and Delta ALPA Safety is on what date did Delta ensure that all Delta pilots are aware of what Boeing has stated 7 years ago would be installed by March, 2009.

    The significance is that if any ALPA pilots are not aware of this 'feature' they cannot comply with FAR 121.533.

    In regards to yesterday's B777 hull loss expect to see the attached tax document anchoring a chapter published demonstrating the similarities of yesterday's loss to Adam Air 574 to Sukhoi Superjet lost in May, 2012.

    Please note that defattru email address goes to Russian Air Force, Sukhoi and GRU. If you are not aware of who GRU is perhaps you should be.


    Field McConnell
    715 307 8222

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