Another Rittenhouse update

 Forward!, Hmm..., news, politics, weapons, youtube  No Responses »
Aug 292020
 

A video worth watching:

The narrative that he’s a murderer sure seems ill-supported by the facts.

Bonus round:

Nick Sandmann’s Attorney Lin Wood Takes 17-Year-Old Kenosha Shooter Kyle Rittenhouse’s Defense Pro Bono

This is the lawyer who sued (so far, successfully) the bejeebers out of a number of media outlets for libel and slander for claiming that Nick Sandmann was a smug racist when he was in fact the victim. And on *that* note…

As Kenosha rifleman gets legal aid, online vigilantes ARCHIVE tweets for defamation suits likely to come

For example:

Assuming that the video evidence and testimonies so far given continue to be unrefuted *and* Rittenhouse doesn’t get railroaded… Representative Pressley could wind up paying for Rittenhouse’s *everything* from here on out.

 Posted by at 2:01 am

No more Black Panther, I guess

 art, Hmm..., news, ಠ_ಠ  No Responses »
Aug 282020
 

‘Black Panther’ star Chadwick Boseman dies of cancer at 43

Damn, son… 43?

That role in “Black Panther 2” now seems a little iffy. And I don’t say that sarcastically: Disney *could* if they wanted use a digital Boseman for the role. Because there’s little chance that Black Panther 2 won’t happen; it’s just a question of either recasting the role (which the MCU has done), writing the character out with an off-screen death or some such… or using some form of computer trickery.

 Posted by at 8:50 pm

Further on Kenosha

 AARRRGH, Forward!, Hmm..., news, politics, THIS is why Trump won, ಠ_ಠ  No Responses »
Aug 272020
 

More information has come out regarding Kyle Rittenhouse and the people he went up against. The information is interesting… and not exactly shocking. The following Twitter thread is by a journalist at the New York Times who did actual objective journalism (shocking, I know!). When Rittenhouse shot the second and third people, killing one and wounding the other, it was clear he was acting in self defense. But the *first* guy he shot was under unclear circumstances. But investigating the available evidence seem to show that he wasn’t the first shooter. When he was initially chased into the car dealership *someone* *else* started shooting. It appears that that first fatal shot was again in self defense.

 

It’s interesting to examine the three people that Rittenhouse shot. Fortunately, Andy Ngo is another journalist who is doing actual journalism:

Feel free to wonder if you should feel bad when a minor shoots a convicted pedophile.

Hardly surprising that these “mostly peaceful protestors” had violent backstories. And for those who question the propriety of a 17-year-old carrying a gun, you have to question whether someone with a criminal record involving a firearm should have been carrying a gun while claiming to be a medic.

 

 

 Posted by at 5:19 pm

Oh *come* *on*

 AARRRGH, Crazy, dumbassery, Forward!, Gah., news, politics, ಠ_ಠ  No Responses »
Aug 272020
 

Minneapolis is a’lootin’ again. Why? Was there some horrible police-based misdeed? Did they beat the tar out of some random schmoe? Did they shoot a guy? Nope. A guy wanted for murder shot *himself.*

Minneapolis stores looted as mayhem erupts following gunman’s suicide: police

Perhaps it’s time to start suing media outlets who refer to these things as “protests” rather than “riots,” and for claiming they’re about “justice” when clearly it’s “any excuse to loot is good enough.”

 Posted by at 12:31 am

Apollo Extension System models

 history, models, projects, rockets, science, spacecraft  No Responses »
Aug 262020
 

This set of models was recently sold on eBay. It depicts a proposed concept for extending the utility of Apollo hardware… in this case, the Command Module and the Ascent Stage of the Lunar Module, by using them in Earth or Lunar orbit in conjunction with a small space laboratory. The Lunar Module would be used as a little space lab of it’s own, with a bolted-on telescope… this idea transformed into the Apollo Telescope Mount on Skylab, which began life as a modified LM. This probably dates from 1965-66. The purpose of the lab was to provide living space for the crew of three, because missions were contemplated lasting several months, providing detailed examination of the Earth or moon. Scientifically useful to be sure, but were the crew packed solely into the CM and LM for that period they’d likely kick the walls out.

 

 Posted by at 7:41 pm

Well, some are fighting back…

 Crazy, dumbassery, Forward!, Hmm..., news, politics, youtube, ಠ_ಠ  No Responses »
Aug 262020
 

Last night the rioters in Kenosha found out that some people aren’t willing to just stand back and let them have their way. It seems that a group of rioters were planning on burning down another car dealership, but at least one (presumed) owner or employee was willing to stop them. in this case, with a rifle, probably an AR-15. As a result, two are dead, one injured. The videos in the tweets below are both informative and explicit in that it shows a guy dying on the ground with a head wound. What’s also shown is the *extreme* irony of these “we hate cops” rioters yelling out “call the cops!” when one of theirs is gunned down.

As I understand Wisconsin law, they have “Castle Doctrine” which means that a home or business owner has no duty to retreat in the face of an invading aggressor, but can shoot to kill in order to defend themselves, other people, their home and their stuff. Which, if the shooter here is an owner or employee, would *seem* to indicate that this should probably be considered a legal shooting. Which should have an interesting effect on the rioters if they know that they can get a lead pellet to the brainpan anytime they screw around on private property.

I’ve put the vids after the break. So click to see ’em or don’t.

Continue reading »

 Posted by at 9:12 am

Electromagnetic warfare

 Hmm..., science, weapons, youtube  No Responses »
Aug 252020
 

We’ve recently seen the insurrectionists using electronic devices from lasers to bullhorns as weapons against the police and the citizenry. It occurs to me that a discussion may be had about countermeasures: what portable device can a person have on their person that could be used to disable electronic weapons? If, say, someone were to don the Antifa uniform – black clothes, face mask, dark glasses, hoodie and/or helmet – they could wander more or less freely through the crowd of commies. If they had a bullhorn neutralizer in their backpack, it might not need to be obvious that it was in operation. What the range and true capability of such a mechanism could be, I don’t know, but it seems like it would be interesting to speculate about. Any device strong enough to shut down something as straightforward as a bullhorn would seem likely to do untold damage to GoPros and cell phones as well. The following vids show home made devices that generate EMPs that work at *very* close range to shut down electronics, but I would expect that professional devices could have longer range and directionality.

These things are also LOUD, which could be an issue.

For anti-bullhorn use, melting down the electronics might not be the only approach. Somehow over-riding it, so that it sends out nothing but static, or *your* *own* *messages* could be useful as well. This might be a case of powerful radio transmissions rather than EMP. Dunno. Thoughts? Ideas?

 Posted by at 11:46 pm

Moonbase

 blather, dumbassery, Forward!, Hmm..., news, politics, spacecraft, THIS is why Trump won, ಠ_ಠ  No Responses »
Aug 252020
 

The Trump campaign published their second term agenda. It is pretty much a list of what you’d expect… generic reasonable aspirations and talking point, few of which are even remotely controversial. Behold:

Trump Campaign Announces President Trump’s 2nd Term Agenda: Fighting for You!

The agenda says this about the space program:

Launch Space Force, Establish Permanent Manned Presence on The Moon and Send the First Manned Mission to Mars

Which is frankly not a whole hell of a lot. Of course, this being 2020, “not even remotely controversial” results in “I’ll take that challenge” from the usual crowd. Behold an entire opinion piece written to decry those few words about the moon:

Trump Wants a Moonbase

In case you’re wondering about the quality of the piece and it’s author and don;t wish to give them clicks, here’s a summary:

Last night, Trump released his second term agenda, incredibly specific guidelines for xenophobic totalitarian rule sprinkled with pipe dreams. Among the former is the usual parade of fascistic talking points: “teach American exceptionalism,” prosecute the “violent extremist” group antifa, deport “non-citizen gang members,” hold China “accountable” for covid-19, eliminate sanctuary cities. The latter variety is contrasted with such gems as “return to normal in 2021” and establish a “permanent” “manned presence” on the moon.

A base. On the moon. A moonbase, if you will.

Uh-huh. Note what the author considers fascism: enforcing laws against rioting and arson and assault and murder and illegal immigration. More specific to determining the value of the author:

he somehow bloated the military with a Space Force, in spite of the total absence of warfare in space currently.

Huh. There’s no war in space *now,* so there’s no need to plan for it.

GENIUS!

But even more… are we sure there’s no war in space right now? Are we absolutely certain?

Bah. Journalism is dead.

 Posted by at 2:13 pm

Kenosha

 AARRRGH, Crazy, Forward!, Gah., news, politics, THIS is why Trump won, ಠ_ಠ  No Responses »
Aug 252020
 

In the movies, when there is some sort of disaster the National Guard comes out and says that anyone caught looting is subject to being shot. This is a bit of dramatic license; that’s not legal under current laws.

Trump would likely guarantee a 50-state sweep if he *did* make it legal. The video below shows just what’s going on… an71-year-old feller has his business (a mattress shop) set on fire by Mostly Peaceful Protestors, and when he tries to interfere, they try to murder him.

This appears to be a GoFundMe to help the guy with medical expenses… and to relocate.

Difficult to argue that we’re not now in a civil war. The last time the lines were more or less geographical. This time, it’s ideological, with far leftists vs. everybody else. Right now, the American public is still not involved with putting this insurrection down, hoping that it will simply blow over. But with every day that it’s allowed to fester and burn, the likelihood that it will stop declines. At some point, it will become sufficiently self-sustaining that the only way it’ll end will be full-blown combat. Fortunately… it seems that the combat forces of the bad guys here are not exactly the sharpest tools in the shed:

 

 Posted by at 12:29 pm
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