September 13, 1951 is the birthday of President Salva Kiir Mayardit of South Sudan.
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Taking the Offensive Against ISIS: A Historical View- Part 1, by S.G. in Florida
Islamic mass casualty attacks have been all the rage among the Islamic barbarians. Unfortunately, the current administration has allowed the Jihadi idea to metastasize so that now, instead of taking the fight to the enemy, the enemy is bringing the fight to our homes. This article will examine the implications of the current wave of Islamic attacks and contemplate the possibility that this is a world wide clash of civilizations, requiring a systematic and unrestrained unconventional military response.
When it comes to the prevention of mass casualty attacks, it is very difficult to discuss successful prevention methods, since by definition a successful prevention would not be widely publicized and the projection of what would have been would be impossible to know. However, the presence of police forces in proximity to the event, as well as the presence of firearms in the hands of law abiding citizens, could limit the impact of any potential attacker. Let’s look at three examples. The first is a mass shooting at the Appalachian School of Law in Virginia that was cut short by two legally armed students. On February 12, 2007, a mass shooting event at a Utah shopping center was stopped by an off-duty police officer with a firearm. On December 17, 2012, a mass shooting at a San Antonio, Texas movie theater was prevented by a police officer before the shooter could harm anyone in the theater. While these were not Islamic inspired attacks, the successful civilian response can be instructive. Further, the civilian populace needs to be mentally prepared to resist mass attackers, as was the Christian youth minister Todd Beamer on Flight 93.
There are currently numerous Constitutional restraints to government when attempting to prevent mass casualty attacks. In fact, the entire Constitution is designed as a limitation on government. Some specific provisions stand out as particularly onerous, when one is attempting to design a preventative government system targeting potential attackers. For example, the “right to privacy” stands in the way of preventative surveillance in many cases. While the right to privacy is not explicitly stated in the U.S. Constitution, it is explicitly guaranteed in some state constitutions, and case law has firmly ensconced this right in the minds of the general public. Some have argued that privacy is impossible, given the current state of technology.
The perpetrators of recent mass casualty attacks are generally perpetrated by Islamic Jihadists. The First Amendment’s guarantee of the free exercise of religion, freedom of speech and of the press, as well as the right to assemble all pose substantial barriers to preventing mass attacks by Islamic Jihadis. For example, the collection of these rights would seem to allow for a imam gathering together his forces in a mosque, preaching that Allah would reward suicide attackers, distributing firearms to his followers, and publishing how-to manuals on inflicting mass casualties. Each of these actions has a Constitutional protection associated with it, yet taken together, these acts serve as a loud warning that mass casualty attacks are going to take place.
Understanding the American Constitutional limitations on domestic anti-terror actions, the question of what policies could be effective in battling Jihadist Islamic attackers is a very difficult and complex one. The first step is to stop the importation of Islamic populations into the United States. While deportation is generally a high cost and ineffective response, there is no reason why the country cannot limit or deny entry to high risk groups. No foreigner has a right to emigrate to our country, nor do we have to allow immigration from any country. If we do allow immigration, then we should select for admission those groups that are most compatible with our nation’s heritage, rather than those whom are least compatible. It is a perplexing question of why, for example, the leftist progressives are dead set on importing thousands and thousands of Syrian refugees into our country with no way to vet them for terrorist sympathies and no connection to the United States, while there are thousands, if not millions, of Filipinos lined up waiting to come to America who share our values and have a close connection to our country. The same could be said of the African state of Liberia, which is populated by Christians with strong historical connections to the United States. The unanswered question for the left is: Why pick the least likely to integrate and the most dangerous populations to import as future citizens?
Given the fact that most Jihadist Islamic attackers intend to die in the commission of their act, the application of retributive criminal law to such a person would necessarily be ineffective. Therefore, extralegal actions and warfare are the only possible response that could be effective. Some have advocated that we do nothing and live with the existence of mass casualty attacks by Islamic Jihadists. This line of thinking observes that the world population is very large and that the deaths attributable to Islamic Jihadism are relatively few in number, percentage wise.ii Therefore, the Western World should just ignore the Islamic Jihadist as a fact of life. Unfortunately, ignoring the problem may lead in the long term to either world domination and enslavement by the Jihadist or, alternatively, lead to nuclear war destroying the entire Muslim world.
Those who wish to resist the barbarian Islamic onslaught are generally those who believe that the idea of Western Civilization is worth preserving and the 1500 years of resistance to Islamic invasion should not be casually sacrificed on the alter of diversity, virtue signaling, multi-culturalism, and moral equivalence. The Christian peoples of the West are following the historical examples of Charles Martel in his 732 victory in the Battle of Tours or the 1571 Battle of Lepanto. Early Christians, such as John of Damascus, viewed Muhammadanism as a Christian heresy and its teachings as a perversion of Christian monotheism, designed by Mohammad as a tool of earthly conquest and power. This idea is echoed by modern twentieth century thinkers G. K. Chesterton and Halaire Belloc, who identified Islam as an evil Christian heresy. Much of this history has been systematically eradicated from school curriculums by leftists who are fundamentally hostile to Western Civilization and make a perverse common cause with the Islamic Jihadist.
It is important to understand that the suicidal cry of “Allah Akbar” is not translated as “God is Great” as many of the Western mass media claim, but it is rather more properly translated as “Allah is greater (than your god)”. It is a battle cry of Islamic dominance over the infidel. It is also important to distinguish between Allah and the God of Christ. Although both religions are monotheistic and mass media atheists confuse the issue by a campaign of moral equivalence, they are not the same. Suicide is a mortal sin in Christian doctrine. Murder is a moral sin in Christian doctrine. Christians believe in loving thy neighbor, while Islamists seek to dominate their neighbors with violence. There are many more distinctions, but it is clear that no Christian would excuse the mass killings of innocents in the name of Jihad. Without understanding the history, the West is unable to properly deal with this enemy.
The Islamic enemy knows his history and is following a 1500 year tradition of conquest against the infidel. These Jihadists look to the conquest of the Byzantines and Constantinople (the capital of Eastern Christiandom) in 1453 by the Islamic Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II as an example. Symbolism is not only important, it is a critical recruiting tool and objective of the Islamists. This is expressed in the physical world by the desire of Islamists to build mosques directly on top of religious sites of others. For example, the Al Aqsa Mosque sits atop the site of the Jewish Second Temple. The Babur Mosque was built atop the birthplace of Rama (a Hindu religious site) in 935. Upon the capture of Constantinope, the Hagia Sophia was first desecrated then converted to a mosque. To this day, within the interior of the Hagia Sophia hangs Allah Akbar signage. The desire of local Muslims to build a mosque at the site of the 9-11 attacks follows in this tradition.
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Letter Re: Storing Cash at Home
Hugh,
Caution. My dad stored several mason jars around the property stuffed with $100 bills rolled tightly. When he moved from the old homestead, we helped him dig them up and found mold had invaded the jars so the outer eighth inch of $100 bills turned to dust. The bills were in so tight we had to break the glass to get them out. We will never know how much was lost, but if i were doing the same thing today I think I might look at vacuum packing to insure survival. – M.
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News From The American Redoubt:
More Syrian Muslim “refugees” in Boise, Idaho than NYC and LA combined – B.B.
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Don’t bring me no bad (redoubt) news. Liberal edition – T.Z.
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Murder Rates Rose in a Quarter of the Nation’s 100 Largest Cities – Notice the area where murder is NOT increasing – M.P.
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To shoot or not? A reporter finds it’s not always an easy call – Good thing she has a boyfriend to protect her – J.P.
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Economics and Investing:
Wells Fargo scandal is just the beginning… here’s what else they’re hiding–
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US Dollar Will Strengthen As Fed Funds Rate Rises
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The Death Of The Bakken Field Has Begun: Means Big Trouble For The U.S. – K.T.
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Bad News For The Bakken As Obama Administration Blocks Pipeline
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SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.
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Odds ‘n Sods:
I just noticed this very unusual and quite reasonably priced rural Kentucky property, over at our SurvivalRealty.com spin-off site: 87 Acres with Natural Gas Well.
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Cops using artificial intelligence to stop crimes BEFORE they happen, researchers warn – DSV
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Tent Cities Full Of Homeless People Are Booming In Cities All Over America As Poverty Spikes – DMS
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New Tricks Make ISIS, Once Easily Tracked, a Sophisticated Opponent
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For those who participate in water activities: ‘Drowning machines’: Low-head dams an unexpected killer
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Hugh’s Quote of the Day:
“Neoconservatives tend to want more efficient government agencies; paleoconservatives want fewer government agencies.” – Thomas E. Woods
Notes for Monday – September 12, 2016
After nearly 40 years of riding across millions of American TV and movie screens, the cowboy actor William Boyd, best known for his role as Hopalong Cassidy, died on this day in 1972 at the age of 77.
Pat Cascio’s Product Review: Kershaw Knives Emerson Launch 5
When I think back to my childhood in Chicago, IL, I can’t help but smile about how good we had it back then. We had a tiny black and white TV, which had maybe half a dozen channels to choose from. My grandparents, who raised me, even had a coal stove for heat for many years. Remember, this was Chicago! My grandparents never even had a key for the front door to their apartment. Kids growing up in the 1950s really had it good with no computers, no video games, no MTV, nor any of that stuff that kids today believe they can’t live without.
During the summer months, all the kids on the block would go out early in the day and didn’t come home until the street lights came on. It was kind of an unwritten law that all the parents had. None of us were kidnapped or molested back then either. Some of us had toy guns and some simply had “finger” guns. Guess what? None of us ever shot each other, or anyone else.
Every guy I knew had a pocket knife of some sort, bar none! We would play mumbly peg for hours on end. Kids today don’t even know what that game was and how much fun we had, and, once again, none of us cut or stabbed each other with our pocket knives. Additionally, we all carried our pocket knives to school, where no one got expelled for it, either. There was even a time when I took a .22 LR rifle to school for show ‘n tell, and the police weren’t called and no one was shot. Do they still have show ‘n tell in schools any more?
Many kids, well most of us, either had a “Jack Knife” or a simple one-blade folding knife, and we could spend half a day whittling on a piece of wood, just shaving off thin strips of wood. It was fun. I remember spending hours on the front stoop with my grandfather just whittling on a piece of wood. It was grand fun.
If you were “connected” back in the day, you could lay your hands on a “switch blade” knife. Unfortunately, automatic-opening knives are still called “switch blade” knives for some reason. Even those clerks behind the counter in a gun or knife shop will call an automatic-opening knife a “switch blade”. “Yes”, back in those days I did manage to lay my hands on an automatic-opening folding knife. It was a lot of fun to sit there and press the button and watch that blade fly open. I did it for hours and hours.
Sadly, many states and locales today have outlawed the ownership of automatic-opening knives for some reason. I still believe we have Hollywood to “thank” for this. They demonized automatic-opening knives in movies back in the 1950s, making the viewer believe that a “switch blade” knife was some how more deadly than a manually opening knife. Such is not the case, not then and not now! I’m glad I live in an enlightened state, where automatic-opening knives are legal to own, and many are made in Oregon!
One of the newest automatic-opening knives from Kershaw Knives is the new Launch 5, which is a joint collaboration between Kershaw Knives and Ernest Emerson, who many consider to be the father of “tactical knives”. I’m not about to dispute this claim. I’ve interviewed Emerson several times in the past for some articles I was doing on his custom and factory-made knives, and we spent many hours on the phone. We had a lot in common, one being the martial arts and of course our love for knives. Emerson is the real deal!
The Launch 5 is an automatic-opening folder, and it may be the best one from Emerson yet. If you ever look at the Emerson Knives website, one thing becomes clear– his knives are in demand, because he is always out-of-stock on many knives. So, Kershaw came to the rescue and is producing knives that Emerson designed. To be sure, I have found no difference between an Emerson factory knife and a Kershaw knife. They are that good!
The Launch 5 has a blade made out of CPM154– a powered metal steel that is hard to explain but easy to appreciate. This powdered steel takes and holds an edge a very long time, plus it is a stainless steel. Just keep in mind that stainless steel can still rust. It just fights off the elements better than carbon steel does. I like the stonewashed finish on the blade, because it helps hide any scratches you might get on the blade.
The handles and backspacer are made out of aluminum, to help reduce the weight of the knife to just a mere 4.1 oz, so carrying it around in your pocket all day long, isn’t a problem at all. You forget the knife is clipped in your pocket, and the pocket clip is reversible from one side of the handle to the other. The blade is carried tip-up. The machined texturing on the handle scales makes for a sure hold on the folder in any weather conditions, too. There is a lanyard “tie off” in the butt of the blade, not your usual lanyard hole.
The button used to open the blade is slightly recessed, and I like this. I’ve had many automatic-opening folders accidentally open in my pocket in the past, which is a painful and quite often bloody experience. However, even though the button is recessed, it is still easy to find and press to open the blade. There’s no thought involved. When the knife is in your hand, the button is easy to find and press, and the blade opens with authority, too.
The aluminum handle is anodized black, for a subdued and tactical look. The blade is 3.4 inches long, but it looks longer and is a drop point style, which is very useful for all kinds of cutting tasks. The button you use to open the blade is the same button you push to close the blade. Simply press the button and push the blade closed. However, when it is locked open, it is rock solid. There is no play at all in the blade and handle; that’s nice! There is a choil in the handle, at the front, for placing your index finger, and it is nicely protected from sliding up on the blade.
One of the tests I perform on automatic-opening knives is to repeatedly open and close the blade to see how stout it is all put together. In more than a thousand openings and closings, the blade remains solid with no play at all. The pocket clip is extremely durable and keeps the knife tight inside the pocket. And lastly, the knife is made in the USA!
I like to carry a knife for a couple weeks during my testing period, and knives get used for all sorts of chores on my small homestead that require cutting. As always, the very present blackberry vines are tough, but the Emerson easily sliced through them with one swipe. The blade is super sharp from the factory, and it did not require a touch up of any kind during the testing. Cardboard is tough stuff on a knife’s blade; it will really dull a knife in short order but not so with the Emerson. Cutting poly rope and cotton rope was no problem at all.
Now, my testing period ended, but I’m still carrying this Emerson in my right front pocket. It grew on me in short order. It fits my hand nicely and just feels good, so I’m still packing it, but I’ll have to retire it soon. I have more pocket knives that need testing.
If you can legally own an automatic-opening folder, then check out the newest from Kershaw and Emerson. Its full retail is $169.99, and it is a great deal. You have the Kershaw name and lifetime warranty and the Emerson name as the designer. What’s not to like here?
– Senior Product Review Editor, Pat Cascio
Recipe of the Week: Summertime Salsa
Reader J.C. presented this modified recipe, which originated at Old World Farms Garden
Ingredients
- 35 tomatoes (preferably Roma, along with whatever tomatoes are harvested that day)
- 3 green peppers
- 2 sweet red peppers
- 3 medium onions
- 6 cloves of garlic
- 4-5 various peppers of your choice to add sweetness and/or heat **I used 3 cajun belle and 2 jalapenos
- 1 handful of cilantro
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup lime juice
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar (or eliminate the lime juice and put in 1 cup of vinegar)
Instructions
- Peel tomatoes – place whole tomatoes in a pot of boiling water for 25 seconds and then immediately remove and place them into an ice water bath for the same amount of time. Remove from the water, and the skins will peel off without difficulty.
- Dice tomatoes in slightly larger than the tomatoes you would typically find in your salsa. Add to a large stock pot.
- Remove seeds and ribs of the peppers and roughly chop them and place them in a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped. *If you want to keep the heat in your salsa, keep ribs and seeds of the hot peppers in your salsa. Add the peppers to the tomatoes in the stock pot.
- Add large chunks of onions, cilantro, and peeled garlic into the food processor. Pulse until the desired consistency is achieved. Add to the stock pot.
- Add salt, pepper, lime juice, and vinegar; stir.
- Heat on Medium-High heat until it reaches boiling. Boil for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste test your mixture, adding additional salt and/or 1 teaspoon of sugar per your preference.
- Add to heated pint jars, wipe the rim, and seal with a warm ring and lid. Process in a hot water bath for 15 minutes.
- Remove jars and place on a towel. Let cool for 24 hours. Before storing, check to make sure all jars are sealed by pushing on the lid. If it doesn’t move, it is sealed appropriately. If it didn’t seal, immediately add to your refrigerator and use within 2 weeks. Store sealed jars on cool dark shelf for up to 12 months.
Makes approximately 9 pints.
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Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? Please send it via e-mail. Thanks!
Letter Re: Storing Cash at Home
Hugh,
Every small fire resistant safe I’ve found has a warning that the fireproofing material emits moisture, and they recommend putting papers in plastic to protect against mildew and rot. They also recommend airing the box out periodically, which might be difficult if it’s cached someplace. We use our Foodsaver to protect against this. Just wanted to mention it in case someone doesn’t read the instructions that come with the safes. Regards, – P.T.
Economics and Investing:
U.S. national debt is more than all the world’s physical cash, gold, silver, and bitcoin combined. – B.B.
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Central Banks May Choose Helicopter Money Over Negative Rates
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Case For -2% Rates, Banning Cash? Jim Grant Blasts Lunatic Proposals – DSV
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An Explosion of Global Debt. Excerpt: “Whether we talk about Greek, Spanish, French, Italian or German banks, their balance sheets are all lumbered with billions of toxic assets with the only buyer being the ECB. This is why the current ECB printing program will not end in March 2017 but instead accelerate.”
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SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.
Odds ‘n Sods:
By way of Commander Zero’s blog (Notes From The Bunker) I heard that the New York Times surprisingly ran a piece about EDC gear: Multitools Make the Man.
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In a recent video, Wranglerstar reviews a great “game changing” knife sharpening system from Russia: A Box From Russia Changed My Life
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New ransomware pinpoints your location with Google Maps. I can’t help but notice in the demonstration that Windows 10 gave multiple warnings that had to be overridden in order for this ransomware to be installed. Link sent in by DSV
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A Seattle-area school district deals with fallout of limiting suspensions. Real-world test results. The schools cannot resolve deeper, societal issues. – P.S.
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If this doesn’t convince people that Hitlery is unfit to be president I fear nothing will: Hillary Clinton collapsing out of 9/11 Event – T.P.
Hugh’s Quote of the Day:
“Work saves us from three great evils: boredom, vice and need.” – Voltaire
Notes for Sunday – September 11, 2016
September 11th is, of course, the anniversary of the 2001 Al-Qaeda attacks on the U.S., but it is also the anniversary of the Benghazi Embassy attacks in 2012. Please remember the sacrifice of J. Christopher Stevenson, Sean Smith, and CIA (former Navy SEAL) agents Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty. Between them, Woods and Doherty reportedly dropped at least 60 of the attackers, before their position was overwhelmed. Please also remember the spineless worms in Washington, D.C. who decided to not back up the embassy staff when they were in dire need of help. Eventually, they will pay for that. Time wounds all heels.
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Today, as we recognize the 15th anniversary of the dreadful Islamic 9-11 terrorist attacks, please pause to reflect and pray about both the loss of human lives but also about the loss of human liberty that has occurred since then. What we really needed to institute was a new closer scrutiny of Islamic military-age Middle Eastern non-citizens coming into our country. But what we got instead was an unconstitutional pervasive Surveillance State that monitors and permanently catalogs nearly every aspect of the public and private lives of our entire citizenry: our travel, purchases, relationships, e-mails, scans of the exterior of every piece of mail (showing both “to” and “from” addresses), keyword searching and archiving of telephone and Skype conversations, hundreds of thousands of surveillance cameras, license plate scanners, targeted tax audits, and much more. Today is a day of mourning, in more ways than one. – JWR





