I don’t know what the Russian military was expecting, but being on the receiving end of the first industrial-scale use of robots to hunt down their soldiers one at a time was probably not high on their list.
Feb 052023
Feb 042023
Now that the Chinese “spy balloon” has crossed the entire United States, the Air Force *finally* got the order from Biden to shoot the thing down. Looks like a fighter launched a missile… a missile that doubtless cost way more than the balloon. Happened over Myrtle Beach, South Carolina… you know, the far side of the country from where it entered.
F-16s are on the case! Chinese Spy Balloon your time has come!! pic.twitter.com/ePxOLMy1tv
— Chris Combs (iterative design enjoyer) (@DrChrisCombs) February 4, 2023
— Sam Guichelaar (@SamGuichelaar) February 4, 2023
Full video pic.twitter.com/Qwq8CJbHej
— jared Stalvey (@jaredstalvey) February 4, 2023
#ChineseSpyBalloon shot down!!! pic.twitter.com/2CsMZlmZCq
— USC (@RealUSC) February 4, 2023
Feb 022023
Makes one think that the state government might not be filled with right-thinking honest folks who have the upholding of the Constitution as their primary goal.
Illinois assault weapons ban: Court upholds temporary restraining order
The primary cause of the restraining order against this law is the equal protection clause, because while it bans the average citizen from buying a common firearm, it allows untrained security guards to have them, along with retired cops and a few other classes of people that you ain’t. The restraining order when originally issued only protected the eight-hundred-some plaintiffs in the case; it has now been made state-wide.
Jan 312023
The Dem-dominated government of the state of Illinois passed an “assault weapon ban” that bans not only commonly owned firearms but also standard capacity magazines as part of their policy of decriminalizing violent crime while criminalizing the law abiding. But the law was so badly written – and badly conceived – that I wonder if the inevitable boomerang effect might end up with Illinois finally entering the twenty first century and ditching *all* of the unconstitutional tyrannical nonsense that has been on the books. Consider:
Appellate Court Affirms DeVore’s Equal Protection Argument, Assault Weapons Ban Temporary Restraining Order, Binds Courts Statewide
The ban on common rifles is clearly unconstitutional on second amendment right… but it’s *also* unconstitutional – state and federal – on “equal protection” issues. Because while it bans *some* people from owning, say, an AR-15, it exempts current and retired police, current military and security guards. The point is often raised that the same politicians who rail against average schmoes being able to defend their homes, persons and property with a semi-auto rifle often have armed guards packing semi and even full auto weapons.
One can hope that the court smackdown of the “assault weapon ban” will hit so hard that other existing gun laws in Illinois will be brought down. By over-reaching, the gun-grabbers might well have assured that all gun control laws across the US end up before the US Supreme Court. It would be spectacular if the NFA winds up going the way of the dodo, as it should. There are few enough arguments that support banning fully automatic weapons; there are none for bans on suppressors and short barreled rifles and shotguns.
Jan 302023
Interesting if true. A 5.9 magnitude earthquake as a direct result of an explosion would indicate a yield on the order of one megaton. more likely would be a sizable *bang* near a fault line, which would be stupid in its own right. The epicenter was apparently a number of kilometers below the ground, so it was almost certainly a perfectly natural quake… but hardly impossible that it was triggered by a sizable explosion.
The resulting earthquake in Iran from the detonation of whatever was struck underground registered 5.9 magnitude on the Richter scale. pic.twitter.com/OzSm3EFH7I
— Igor Sushko (@igorsushko) January 29, 2023
Jan 242023
Up first:
U.S. Poised to Provide Abrams Tanks to Ukraine
Of note here is that this will, theoretically, spur the Germans to send their Leopard 2 tanks. The Leopard 2’s would likely be more advanced than the M-1s; and while there are more M-1’s in the world, the Leopards are closer to Ukraine and there are a number of countries willing to send Leopards. This is of course not pure altruism; they’ll likely be sending the older tanks that were about to be mothballed or scrapped; and if not, these donations will leave tank-shaped holes that will need to be filled with the latest and greatest. “You don;t need new tanks, we’ve got enough at home” no longer works as an excuse if you don’t actually have enough at home.
Additionally: the Russians might finally, rather overdue, be getting their crap in gear. So if they are faced with modern western MBTs, they’ll almost certainly launch their best anti-tank weapons at them. And sad though it may be for Ukrainians to hear, I’d rather modern NATO tanks get battlefield tested now, with Ukrainian crews, than later with NATO crews, on NATO territory. Losing these tanks to Russian weapons now will allow western designers to produce counter systems for when we need to fight Russian forces in Poland or Finland or Estonia or Wales.
Also:
McCarthy formally blocks Schiff, Swalwell from Intel panel
Never forget: Swalwell was the one who banged a Chinese spy and threatened to nuke American cities. He should *really* be the center of FBI attention, not sitting on the House Intelligence Committee. As for Schiff, he tried and failed to tie Trump to Russian collusion. Lots of people tried that, including some who should have known better at the FBI. Speaking of which…
Retired FBI counterintel agent reportedly involved in Trump-Russia probe arrested for ties to Russian oligarch
Also also: In recent years the NRA has become pretty much worthless in the fight to maintain Constitutional rights, even as they remain one of the Democrats primary boogeymen in *their* never-ending quest to render the citizens of the US into helpless subjects. But they’re finally stepping up a bit:
NRA sues over Illinois ban on semiautomatic weapons
Jan 242023
So California, Gun Free State, has it’s second mass shooting in a handfull of days. And… it’s another old Asian guy.
7 Dead, 1 Injured in Half Moon Bay Mass Shooting; Suspect in Custody
Authorities identified the suspect as 67-year-old Half Moon Bay resident Chunli Zhao.
Also, (apparently) not an Evil Black Rifle:
A semi-automatic handgun was found in his car.
Jan 242023
A 1950’s film describing the “Lobber” rocket from Convair. This was a small battlefield cargo delivery system… rations, medical supplies, ammo, that sort of thing. Kind of a neat idea, but obviously it didn’t go into service. The ability to launch 50 pounds of stuff eight miles just wasn’t that spectacular when cargo planes could para-drop tons of stuff hundreds of miles away, when choppers could zip in and out in the time it would take to pack stuff into the rocket. Today i imagine drones would take on the task… not as fast, but less harsh on the cargo and much more precise.
Note that it is also described as a system capable of delivering *nukes.* Well, any rocket that you can swap out the payload could be a nuclear delivery system if it’s got the capability. Fifty pounds just barely covers it. It would be safer for the launch crew than a Davy Crockett with a range of only a couple miles, but 8 miles is still pretty close. The W54 warhead weighed right about 50 pounds and could yield up to about one kiloton. Eight miles would be a safe distance… so long as the fallout didn’t rain down on your head.
Jan 212023
Filming pistol rounds hitting a steel plate at 250,000 frames per second. Interesting detail: almost all impacts generate a flash. Since the bullets are lead or lead and copper and the steel plate is almost undamaged, it seems the flash is probably air being compressed to incandescence between hammer and anvil rather than superheated bits of metal sparking.
Jan 212023
Below, a twitter thread discussing a recent increase in the appearance of air defense systems in and around Moscow, including Vlad Putin;s digs. The optimistic way of looking at this: every missile placed near Russia is a missile not placed near Ukraine. The pessimistic outlook: you generally don;t go to this kind of bother and expense to take weapons systems *away* from an ongoing conflict unless you have a reason to. It seems the Russians seem to think that the conflict is going to expand to aircraft attacking Moscow. Do they think the Ukrainians are going to do that? Or are they expecting NATO to do that? if so, keep in mind that the excuses being used include “it was a pre-emptive strike against Ukraine because they were going to attack *us.*”
Another possibility is they’re afraid of elements of the Russian Air Force deciding to go a wee bit off mission.
Air defense system spotted near one of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's residencies in Moscow Oblast. Yesterday, air defense systems started to appear on top of high buildings in the city of Moscow, including the Russian defense ministry. #WhatAirDefenseDoing pic.twitter.com/0sZLUKQLP7
— Euan MacDonald (@Euan_MacDonald) January 20, 2023