Three Things Not To Do If It Looks Like You're About To Get Into An Altercation

 

Sunday With Blackthorn - Never Before Seen Paul Harrell Video

 If you've been following this Blog for any substantial period of time, you'll know who Paul Harrell is, and that he passed away from Cancer in September of 1024. The video below is obviously something I never expected to turn up. I'd like to think that there might be a t least a few more that could potentially turn up. In the meantime, sit back, get a cup of coffee or your favorite adult beverage, and learn something from someone who his business.

 

On The Subject of The M-2 Carbine

 

And Once Again, David James Says.....

 ....PAY ATTENTION!!!

 

 

This is Pretty Cool, But Not At The Pricepoint

 Look, I've always liked the M1 Carbine. Old WW2 and Korean War movies,  etc. I've even had the chance to shoot a few over the years. So when I saw this Youtube video and checked out what updated ammunition, better materials and better tooling and machining could do for this venerable old warhorse, I was impressed. 

Now to be upfront, I don't see this  replacing the AR platform at any time in the future. Especially at the going price for a brand new one from Fulton Armory. Especially considering the MSRP of $2,625.00!!! 

Talk about sticker shock.

Still, the video is worth watching, so grab a cup of coffee, sit back and be amazed at what can be attained by updating an old warhorse with improved technology.

 https://www.fulton-armory.com/M1-Carbine-Rifles.aspx

Is Anybody Really Surprised At This?

 

Yeah, the U.N. badmouths us up and down, but it's OK when something happens in the world and they expect the United States to write them a blank check that costs us the proverbial 'Blood and Treasure' to solve the problem. 

Note:  I'm pasting the entire article here because I'm not sure the entire article will show up at the news site where I found it posted.

 https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/un-warns-of-imminent-financial-collapse-as-unpaid-dues-surge-past-1-5-billion/ar-AA1VnqWJ

 U.N. Says It’s in Danger of Financial Collapse Because of Unpaid Dues

By Farnaz Fassihi

Farnaz Fassihi has covered the United Nations for a decade under four American administrations.
Jan. 30, 2026

The United Nations said on Friday that it was facing imminent financial collapse and would run out of money by July if countries, namely the United States, did not pay their annual dues that amount to billions of dollars.

Senior U.N. officials said that if the cash ran out, the agency would be forced to shut down its landmark headquarters in New York by August. The U.N. Security Council, a 15-member body responsible for maintaining international peace and stability, convenes its meetings at U.N. headquarters.

It would also have to cancel the annual General Assembly gathering of world leaders held in September and shut the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which responds to global emergencies like conflicts and natural disasters, it said.

The U.N. secretary general, António Guterres, sent a letter to the ambassadors of all 196 member states on Thursday warning them of “imminent financial collapse,” saying the organization’s financial straits this time were different from those in any previous periods, according to a copy of the letter seen by The New York Times.

“The crisis is deepening, threatening program delivery and risking financial collapse,” Mr. Guterres wrote. “And the situation will further deteriorate in the near future. I cannot overstate the urgency of the situation we now face.”

On Dec. 30, the General Assembly authorized $3.45 billion for the United Nations’ 2026 budget, covering the organization’s three core pillars of work: peace and security, sustainable development and human rights.

The United States is responsible for about 95 percent of the money owed to the United Nations, about $2.2 billion, according to a senior U.N. official who briefed reporters on the agency’s budget crisis. That amount is a combination of the U.S. annual dues for 2025, which has not been paid, and for 2026, the U.N. official said.

As for comment, the U.S. mission to the United Nations referred questions to the State Department, which did not immediately respond.

Annual U.N. dues are mandatory and set according to a country’s gross domestic product, and a member state could be stripped of its voting rights at the United Nations for nonpayment.

Venezuela, which has the second-largest amount of unpaid dues, $38 million for 2025, has lost its voting rights, and the world body is not expecting a payment from the South American country because of sanctions, the U.N. official said.

Mexico was third, owing $20 million for 2025, the official said, but it is expected to make a delayed payment.

The United Nations’ financial woes are largely rooted in two problems: a liquidity crisis driven by member states who either are not paying their dues or are paying late, and a financial rule, dating to 1945, that says if the organization fails to fully spend the budget, even if it’s because of lack of payment from member states, it must return the money to the states.

Mr. Guterres said in his letter that the rule essentially puts the United Nations on a trajectory for doom, and he urged member states to pay their dues in full and to overhaul the rule.

“It leaves the organization exposed to structural financial risk and forces a stark choice: Member States must either agree to overhaul our financial rules — or accept the very real prospect of the financial collapse of our organization,” Mr. Guterres wrote.

President Trump, citing mismanagement, waste and redundancy, withdrew the United States in early January from dozens of international organizations, including several U.N. agencies like the Population Fund. Mr. Trump had already pulled the country out of UNESCO, the U.N. cultural agency; the World Health Organization; and the U.N. Human Rights Council. And he said the United States would reduce funding for peacekeeping operations.

In addition to its annual dues, the United States also owes the United Nations about $1.9 billion for active peacekeeping missions, $528 million for closed missions and $43.6 million for tribunals such as the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, said the senior U.N. official in the briefing.

The United States has indicated to the United Nations that it would make a payment of about $160 million for active peacekeeping, but would not pay for the tribunals, the senior U.N. official said. Peacekeeping missions have been instructed to reduce their budgets by 15 percent, the U.N. official said.

“When it comes to paying, it’s now or never,” said Farhan Haq, a spokesman for the United Nations. “We do not have the sort of cash reserves and the sort of liquidity to keep functioning, as we’ve done in previous years. And this is something that the secretary general has warned with increasing strength each year.”

Mr. Haq said that if the United Nations shut down in July, humanitarian work around the world would also be affected and the work of civilian staff hampered. Agencies such as UNICEF, which handles children’s issues; the U.N. Refugee Agency; and the World Food Program have budgets separate from donations and would continue to operate. But the U.N. agency that coordinates relief work across agencies would close.

Richard Gowan, the U.N. director for the International Crisis Group, a conflict-resolution organization, said that morale was already low among U.N. staff members across its agencies because of layoffs and shrinking programs. If money were to run out by the summer, Mr. Gowan said, one option would be to ask staff members to continue working free for an interim period.

But the real challenge would be to keep conflict mediations, including staff in war zones, and peacekeeping operations overseas afloat without salaries and payments to vendors.

“Guterres has made similar warnings before, and the U.N. has limped through,” Mr. Gowan said. “In the short term, he is probably trying to bounce some big donors into paying up as soon as possible.”

Farnaz Fassihi is the United Nations bureau chief for The Times, leading coverage of the organization. She also covers Iran and has written about conflict in the Middle East for 15 years.

 

Sunday With Blackthorn - Shotgun Sunday Is Back!

 With James Reeves of the TFBTV Youtube channel. It's been a while, so let's take a look at The Newest Beretta Semi-Auto about to hit the market. The design isn't new, but the Gauge is. Beretta has taken the proven design of The Ultima Patrol A300 is now available in 20 ga. and is 25% lighter than the the 12 ga. 

So let's take a look.

 

 

On The Subject Of NATO Defending Themselves Without The United States

 "Good Luck With That" Mark Rutte  Secretary General of NATO

 https://www.nbcnews.com/world/greenland/think-europe-can-defend-us-help-good-luck-says-nato-chief-rcna256083?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us

Ahh,....Old School

 

Sunday With Blackthorn - BJJ.....Is It Self Defense?

 If you feel that you're going to get pissed off about this video, all I ask is that you watch it to the end.