http://www.armywtfmoments.com/charles-durning-us-army-ranger-d-day-and-wwii-veteran-a-true-bamf-and-king-of-character-actors-dies-at-89#.UOIvzKwssSZ
Monday, December 31, 2012
You Just Never Know About Some People
Charles Durning, Actor, and real American hero. R.I.P.
http://www.armywtfmoments.com/charles-durning-us-army-ranger-d-day-and-wwii-veteran-a-true-bamf-and-king-of-character-actors-dies-at-89#.UOIvzKwssSZ
http://www.armywtfmoments.com/charles-durning-us-army-ranger-d-day-and-wwii-veteran-a-true-bamf-and-king-of-character-actors-dies-at-89#.UOIvzKwssSZ
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Facebook Censorship At It's Finest
Just so you all understand where Facebook stands on the issues of Gun Control, and resistance to oppressive governments.
http://www.naturalnews.com/038484_Gandhi_quote_Facebook_censorship.html
http://www.naturalnews.com/038484_Gandhi_quote_Facebook_censorship.html
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Firearms Homicide Statistics
First of all, I keep hearing "30,0000 people were killed with guns last year in this country".
Really?
Hmm. First of all the numbers for Firearms Related Homicides in the U.S. are issued in the FBI Uniform Crime Report, which is compiled from the period 2 years before the date of issue. So the most up to date numbers currently available are from 2010.
So that would be lie No. 1.
Next, the actual number of firearms related homicides (excluding felons shot by police, and felons shot by legally armed citizens acting within the parameters of the law) for 2010 was 12,996. NOT 30,000.
And that would be lie No. 2.
And people wonder why I have little use for people who talk about gun control.
Here's the link to the FACTS as I have stated them.
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.-2010/offenses-known-to-law-enforcement/expanded/expandhomicidemain
Really?
Hmm. First of all the numbers for Firearms Related Homicides in the U.S. are issued in the FBI Uniform Crime Report, which is compiled from the period 2 years before the date of issue. So the most up to date numbers currently available are from 2010.
So that would be lie No. 1.
Next, the actual number of firearms related homicides (excluding felons shot by police, and felons shot by legally armed citizens acting within the parameters of the law) for 2010 was 12,996. NOT 30,000.
And that would be lie No. 2.
And people wonder why I have little use for people who talk about gun control.
Here's the link to the FACTS as I have stated them.
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.-2010/offenses-known-to-law-enforcement/expanded/expandhomicidemain
Time To BAN These Deathtraps!!
Over 600 killed in 2009, and another 51,000 injured. Where are Feinstein and Schumer when you need them??!!!
If banning bicycles saves just ONE life, we need to do SOMETHING!!!
http://www.treehugger.com/bikes/two-cent-us-road-deaths-are-cyclists.html
If banning bicycles saves just ONE life, we need to do SOMETHING!!!
http://www.treehugger.com/bikes/two-cent-us-road-deaths-are-cyclists.html
Friday, December 28, 2012
A Little Gun Control History
Fact, not opinion.
http://rense.com/general95/gun-history.html
A Little Gun History
A LITTLE STORY
In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control.
From 1929 to 1953, about 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915 to 1917, 1.5 million Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
Germany established gun control in 1938 and from 1939 to 1945, a total of 13 million Jews and others who were unable to defend themselves were rounded up and exterminated.
China established gun control in 1935. From 1948 to 1952, 20 million political dissidents, unable to defend themselves were rounded up and exterminated.
Guatemala established gun control in 1964. From 1964 to 1981, 100,000 Mayan Indians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
Uganda established gun control in 1970. From 1971 to 1979, 300,000 Christians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
Cambodia established gun control in 1956. From 1975 to 1977, one million educated people, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
Defenseless people rounded up and exterminated in the 20th Century because of gun control: 56 million.
You won't see this data on the US evening news, or hear politicians disseminating this information.
Guns in the hands of honest citizens save lives and property and, yes, gun-control laws adversely affect only the law-abiding citizens.
Take note my fellow Americans, before it's too late.
The next time someone talks in favor of gun control, please remind them of this history lesson.
With guns, we are 'citizens'. Without them, we are 'subjects'.
During WWII the Japanese decided not to invade America because they knew most Americans were ARMED.
If you value your freedom, please spread this antigun-control message to all of your friends.
SWITZERLAND ISSUES EVERY HOUSEHOLD A GUN.
SWITZERLAND'S GOVERNMENT TRAINS EVERY ADULT THEY ISSUE A RIFLE.
SWITZERLAND HAS THE LOWEST GUN RELATED CRIME RATE OF ANY CIVILIZED COUNTRY IN THE WORLD. IT'S A NO BRAINER.
DON'T LET OUR GOVERNMENT WASTE MILLIONS OF OUR TAX DOLLARS IN AN EFFORT TO MAKE ALL LAW ABIDING CITIZENS AN EASY TARGET.
Spread the word everywhere you can that you are a firm believer in the 2nd Amendment.
It's time to speak loud before they try to silence and disarm us. You're not imagining it, history shows that governments always manipulate tragedies to attempt to disarm the people~
http://rense.com/general95/gun-history.html
A Little Gun History
A LITTLE STORY
In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control.
From 1929 to 1953, about 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915 to 1917, 1.5 million Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
Germany established gun control in 1938 and from 1939 to 1945, a total of 13 million Jews and others who were unable to defend themselves were rounded up and exterminated.
China established gun control in 1935. From 1948 to 1952, 20 million political dissidents, unable to defend themselves were rounded up and exterminated.
Guatemala established gun control in 1964. From 1964 to 1981, 100,000 Mayan Indians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
Uganda established gun control in 1970. From 1971 to 1979, 300,000 Christians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
Cambodia established gun control in 1956. From 1975 to 1977, one million educated people, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
Defenseless people rounded up and exterminated in the 20th Century because of gun control: 56 million.
You won't see this data on the US evening news, or hear politicians disseminating this information.
Guns in the hands of honest citizens save lives and property and, yes, gun-control laws adversely affect only the law-abiding citizens.
Take note my fellow Americans, before it's too late.
The next time someone talks in favor of gun control, please remind them of this history lesson.
With guns, we are 'citizens'. Without them, we are 'subjects'.
During WWII the Japanese decided not to invade America because they knew most Americans were ARMED.
If you value your freedom, please spread this antigun-control message to all of your friends.
SWITZERLAND ISSUES EVERY HOUSEHOLD A GUN.
SWITZERLAND'S GOVERNMENT TRAINS EVERY ADULT THEY ISSUE A RIFLE.
SWITZERLAND HAS THE LOWEST GUN RELATED CRIME RATE OF ANY CIVILIZED COUNTRY IN THE WORLD. IT'S A NO BRAINER.
DON'T LET OUR GOVERNMENT WASTE MILLIONS OF OUR TAX DOLLARS IN AN EFFORT TO MAKE ALL LAW ABIDING CITIZENS AN EASY TARGET.
Spread the word everywhere you can that you are a firm believer in the 2nd Amendment.
It's time to speak loud before they try to silence and disarm us. You're not imagining it, history shows that governments always manipulate tragedies to attempt to disarm the people~
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Some Facts About Facebook
Before I found the article that I took these points from, I was already considering bailing on FB. At this point, I think I'm going to be gone by 2013.
My opinion of "social media" has now dropped to an all-time low.
Your Mileage May Vary.
A company that has made billions by gathering people's personal information and using it to sell ads;
A company whose original privacy statement was a simple sentence but now is longer than the U.S. Constitution and requires a law degree to understand;
A company that has continually pushed people to "share" more of their private information in order to use Facebook;
A company that just four days ago was criticized by the Electronic Frontier Foundation for yet another creepy experiment that would let people pay money to send mail to your inbox, which is just the latest in a long line of criticisms brought by the EFF;
A company that once claimed it wasn't tracking users when they were logged off, only to turn around and admit that it was, just before someone reported that Facebook in fact had applied for and received a patent on technology that would do exactly that;
A company that once got caught trying to run a clumsy covert smear campaign against Google;
A company that once settled claims brought by the FTC that charged Facebook had deceived consumers and violated federal law;
A company that ran a scuzzy IPO marred by allegations of self-dealing, one in which insiders got info about weak revenues and backed away from the deal even as Facebook was touting the stock to suckers, raising both the price of the shares and the number of shares for sale;
A company that has since been the subject of an investigation by the state of Massachusetts. which led to fines levied against its bankers and fears that authorities "will throw the book at Facebook" in 2013 and that "the real liability to Facebook and Morgan Stanley is yet to come";
A company whose Instagram subsidiary recently caused outrage by changing its terms of service but then walked those changes back.
My opinion of "social media" has now dropped to an all-time low.
Your Mileage May Vary.
A company that has made billions by gathering people's personal information and using it to sell ads;
A company whose original privacy statement was a simple sentence but now is longer than the U.S. Constitution and requires a law degree to understand;
A company that has continually pushed people to "share" more of their private information in order to use Facebook;
A company that just four days ago was criticized by the Electronic Frontier Foundation for yet another creepy experiment that would let people pay money to send mail to your inbox, which is just the latest in a long line of criticisms brought by the EFF;
A company that once claimed it wasn't tracking users when they were logged off, only to turn around and admit that it was, just before someone reported that Facebook in fact had applied for and received a patent on technology that would do exactly that;
A company that once got caught trying to run a clumsy covert smear campaign against Google;
A company that once settled claims brought by the FTC that charged Facebook had deceived consumers and violated federal law;
A company that ran a scuzzy IPO marred by allegations of self-dealing, one in which insiders got info about weak revenues and backed away from the deal even as Facebook was touting the stock to suckers, raising both the price of the shares and the number of shares for sale;
A company that has since been the subject of an investigation by the state of Massachusetts. which led to fines levied against its bankers and fears that authorities "will throw the book at Facebook" in 2013 and that "the real liability to Facebook and Morgan Stanley is yet to come";
A company whose Instagram subsidiary recently caused outrage by changing its terms of service but then walked those changes back.
Monday, December 24, 2012
My Last Post On Drones...
...For 2012 anyway. The link below will take you to a website that will amaze, astound, and possibly unnerve you as regards what the future holds.
Enjoy! :-)
http://diydrones.com/
Enjoy! :-)
http://diydrones.com/
Saturday, December 22, 2012
What A Citizen Can Do With A Drone
This is a YouTube video that gives a representation of the previous article.
Doesn't this just give you hope for the future? (Yes, that was sarcasm)
I've been watching the whole Drone thing evolve and expand over the last few years. Once the military started using them on a regular basis 10 yrs or so ago I wondered how long it would be before usage started by Law Enforcement. They're already getting rulings from judges that it's OK to fly these things over peoples property without warrants. Then after going to some of these techie websites and seeing what they were playing with, I knew that genie was out of the bottle.
The government can go fuck themselves. There is no way to stop people (who have the technical expertise, and believe me, there are plenty of them out there) from building these things and modifying them.
I can't wait for the first time somebody records a couple of cops doing something they're not supposed to. They already go batshit when they see people filming them during stops and interviews, but at least they can stop the filmers or lock them up and take the cameras away. That's not going to happen with these devices.
This is going to be insane, and you know it's only a matter of time until it happens.
Like I say, they're not going to be able to stop people from doing it. Look at those little remote controlled helicopters they sell for as little as $19.99. The parts involved all have other completely legal uses, and you can get them from Radio Shack, eBay, mail order ads from literally hundreds of online tech-oriented websites.
This is going to be real interesting.
Doesn't this just give you hope for the future? (Yes, that was sarcasm)
I've been watching the whole Drone thing evolve and expand over the last few years. Once the military started using them on a regular basis 10 yrs or so ago I wondered how long it would be before usage started by Law Enforcement. They're already getting rulings from judges that it's OK to fly these things over peoples property without warrants. Then after going to some of these techie websites and seeing what they were playing with, I knew that genie was out of the bottle.
The government can go fuck themselves. There is no way to stop people (who have the technical expertise, and believe me, there are plenty of them out there) from building these things and modifying them.
I can't wait for the first time somebody records a couple of cops doing something they're not supposed to. They already go batshit when they see people filming them during stops and interviews, but at least they can stop the filmers or lock them up and take the cameras away. That's not going to happen with these devices.
This is going to be insane, and you know it's only a matter of time until it happens.
Like I say, they're not going to be able to stop people from doing it. Look at those little remote controlled helicopters they sell for as little as $19.99. The parts involved all have other completely legal uses, and you can get them from Radio Shack, eBay, mail order ads from literally hundreds of online tech-oriented websites.
This is going to be real interesting.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
More on Drones
One of my favorite topics. Technology marches on, and laws, society and ethics will continue to play catch-up. All this while people debate gun ownership. This little article is great.
Coming soon to the skies near you.....
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/dec/17/citizen-drone-warfare-hobbyist-explores-a-frighten/
Coming soon to the skies near you.....
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/dec/17/citizen-drone-warfare-hobbyist-explores-a-frighten/
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Your Government Hard At Work For You
Well they're at it again. Our faithful A.G. Mr Holder now has some new powers that even the Bush administration tried to put through, but public condemnation forced them to back off. So Our current POTUS decides to sign off on it without taking it through congress for a vote. But of course is anyone screaming about it?
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/12/gov-dossiers-on-us-citizens/
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/12/gov-dossiers-on-us-citizens/
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Article On NYPD Firearms Training
Interesting read. Primarily about practical training vs. cost, time, and manpower availability.
And no, it does not cover point shooting vs aimed fire.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/09/nyregion/new-york-police-recruits-need-more-gun-training-in-real-life-scenarios-critics-say.html?_r=0
And no, it does not cover point shooting vs aimed fire.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/09/nyregion/new-york-police-recruits-need-more-gun-training-in-real-life-scenarios-critics-say.html?_r=0
Friday, December 14, 2012
Do We Have Any Snub Fans Around Here?
I remember my father had two handguns for work. A S&W Model 10 4" Heavy Barrel for his service piece, and a Chiefs Special for his back-up and off-duty carry.
I used to love that snub-nose. The world has now become Semi-Auto and Glock centered for the most part these days.
But I miss that damned little 2" barrelled snubbie.
http://snubnose38.blogspot.com/
I used to love that snub-nose. The world has now become Semi-Auto and Glock centered for the most part these days.
But I miss that damned little 2" barrelled snubbie.
http://snubnose38.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
I LOVE this Joke!!
An old man was asked, "At your ripe age, what do you prefer to get - Parkinson's or Alzheimer's?"
The old man answered, "Definitely Parkinson's. Better to spill half an ounce of Scotch, than to forget where you keep the bottle!!"
The old man answered, "Definitely Parkinson's. Better to spill half an ounce of Scotch, than to forget where you keep the bottle!!"
If It Can Happen In Illinois, It Can Happen Anywhere!
Obama, Emmanuel, and the Clintons must be spitting right now!!
http://blogs.suntimes.com/politics/2012/12/big_win_for_gun-rights_groups_federal_appeals_court_tosses_state_ban_on_carrying_concealed_weapons.html
http://blogs.suntimes.com/politics/2012/12/big_win_for_gun-rights_groups_federal_appeals_court_tosses_state_ban_on_carrying_concealed_weapons.html
Friday, December 7, 2012
Detroit Has Shot It's Load
Once the King of the Steel Belt, home to American Automotive Manufacturing, and the birthplace of the Motown Sound, Detroit is about to have it's life support shut off. This is the largest single collapse of a major American city in the nations history.
I just hope it's not a precursor of what's ahead for the country in general.
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20121207/OPINION03/212070365/State-laying-groundwork-managed-bankruptcy-Detroit?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
I just hope it's not a precursor of what's ahead for the country in general.
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20121207/OPINION03/212070365/State-laying-groundwork-managed-bankruptcy-Detroit?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Think Your Emails Are Secure? Part 2
Aw hell, forget about what I posted a couple of weks ago. This one is even better.
http://rt.com/usa/news/surveillance-spying-e-mail-citizens-178/print/
http://rt.com/usa/news/surveillance-spying-e-mail-citizens-178/print/
Monday, December 3, 2012
George Orwell's 1984 Is Arriving
It's just taking longer than expected, and it's coming in by bits and pieces. As I said a few posts back, if this was happening under Bush, people would be screaming "Fascist" at the top of their lungs.
But we have an "enlightened" administration these days, so of course this is all for our own good......
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57556704-38/cops-to-congress-we-need-logs-of-americans-text-messages/
But we have an "enlightened" administration these days, so of course this is all for our own good......
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57556704-38/cops-to-congress-we-need-logs-of-americans-text-messages/
Archery Anyone?
With the current administration in place down in Washington, we may all need to learn this. Pretty amazing actually.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zGnxeSbb3g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zGnxeSbb3g
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Drones At Sea
Another little interest of mine, just in case you hadn't noticed from some previous posts. Drone technology is moving forward by leaps and bounds.
Can't wait to find out how the testing winds up going.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2240394/X-47B-stealth-drone-hoped-carrier-borne-unmanned-aircraft.html
Can't wait to find out how the testing winds up going.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2240394/X-47B-stealth-drone-hoped-carrier-borne-unmanned-aircraft.html
Thursday, November 29, 2012
More Bad News For The King Of The Old Rust Belt
How are the mighty fallen. The prognosis for Detroit just keeps getting worse. The steel mills go under, then the auto industry starts coming unglued, and in the last year they even decided to start demolishing/leveling whole abandoned parts of the city just so they could shut off the water and sewer services, as well as end police patrols and cease providing fire and EMS.
Now this is on the table:
http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/11/28/state-senator-proposes-dissolving-city-of-detroit/
Now this is on the table:
http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/11/28/state-senator-proposes-dissolving-city-of-detroit/
Monday, November 26, 2012
You Gotta' Love It.
Gimme' that old time religion.....
http://patdollard.com/2012/11/churches-offer-concealed-weapons-training/
http://patdollard.com/2012/11/churches-offer-concealed-weapons-training/
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Think Your Emails Are Secure?
Better think again. I'm always entertained (but rarely surprised) when legislation like this comes from a Democrat. And people have the nerve to call Republicans fascists.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57552225-38/senate-bill-rewrite-lets-feds-read-your-e-mail-without-warrants/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=title
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57552225-38/senate-bill-rewrite-lets-feds-read-your-e-mail-without-warrants/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=title
Sunday, November 18, 2012
I Find This VERY Entertaining.
You know, it's about time the people who pay taxes, follow the law, and mind their business take a page from the other side of the political aisle and start taking advantage of programs that can be used to further our needs and goals.
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-07-02/news/ct-met-gun-buyback-backfire-0702-20120702_1_pro-gun-group-bb-gun-safety-and-marksmanship
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-07-02/news/ct-met-gun-buyback-backfire-0702-20120702_1_pro-gun-group-bb-gun-safety-and-marksmanship
Monday, November 12, 2012
The City in Modern Insurgent Warfare and Uncertain times
An interesting little paper I came across that was originally published in 2010. Some interesting material to mull over.
http://www.columbia.edu/~sjs2/PDFs/city_technology_of_war.pdf
http://www.columbia.edu/~sjs2/PDFs/city_technology_of_war.pdf
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Question: What Have We Learned In 2,067 Years?
Quote: "The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled,
public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be
tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should
be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to
work, instead of living on public assistance."
- Cicero - 55 BC
Answer: Evidently nothing
public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be
tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should
be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to
work, instead of living on public assistance."
- Cicero - 55 BC
Answer: Evidently nothing
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Steve Maxwell Interview
I've always liked Maxwell's approach. This is a 7 part interview, and it is lonnng. So be warned.
Note: I deleted part 7 because the more I thought about it, the more the interviewers political stance, along with the way he essentially ambushed Maxwell with his question, pissed me off.
Note: I deleted part 7 because the more I thought about it, the more the interviewers political stance, along with the way he essentially ambushed Maxwell with his question, pissed me off.
Friday, October 26, 2012
History Repeats Itself
Jimmy Carter Had Desert One, the failed rescue attempt in Iran.
Barack has Benghazi.
There really is a symmetry to life.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/10/26/cia-operators-were-denied-request-for-help-during-benghazi-attack-sources-say/
Barack has Benghazi.
There really is a symmetry to life.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/10/26/cia-operators-were-denied-request-for-help-during-benghazi-attack-sources-say/
Quiet Changes At Major Airports
Of course, possible radiation concerns and potential future litigation had absolutely no impact on this decision.
Sure. ;-)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49481455/ns/travel-news/t/tsa-removes-x-ray-body-scanners-major-airports/
Sure. ;-)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49481455/ns/travel-news/t/tsa-removes-x-ray-body-scanners-major-airports/
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Let's Get Back, To Our Backs
The following articles were condensed from material at Alliance Martial Arts, and Stronglifts. Copyrights belong to them. If they ask me to take them down, they're gone.
Read on boys.
The Invisible Assassins: Iliopsoas
There is a hidden menace that any one of us could have to deal with as martial athletes. A pair of "invisible assassins" if you will, who can put you out of action and yet you'll never see them!
Why? Because they are hidden deep within your body!
I speak of a very important set of muscles that are essential to your everyday life yet are normally ignored; the iliopsosas!
The iliopsoas are actually 2 different muscles (Illiacus & Psoas), but they are often referred to together, because they work together. (Like the Quadriceps which are actually 4 separate muscles). These muscles attach at the low back, hip and upper leg bone. Their main function is to flex the hip. In addition to this, the psoas is one of the main reasons we are able to maintain an upright posture .
The problem comes in if the iliopsoas becomes overly contracted. This can be caused several ways. These include over training, improper technique in training, lack of stretching, and prolonged periods of sitting especially sitting with the knees higher than the hips like when in a car. With the emphasis on core strength training and dynamic motion from the dan-tien (harra in Japanese) that is inherent to the martial arts you see how these muscles can get over worked between conditioning and training!
This over-contraction of the iliopsoas will cause pain and limit your range of motion. Bending forward will be difficult and sitting will become near impossible, particularly anytime your knees are higher than your hips as mentioned.
What makes this particularly deceptive is the fact that the pain will NOT be felt in the iliopsoas but instead will be felt as referred pain elsewhere in the body! Typically the pain referral is in the lower back, hip, kidney region and even into the front of the thighs!
While massage work in those areas will feel nice temporarily, it will NOT deal with the root problem in the iliopsoas. Your relief if any will be temporary and the pain will return in time. This cycle will continue until the iliopsoas muscles get treatment to release them. This is not usually something that just goes away by itself.
Here's an easy test you can do to see if your iliopsoas is overly contracted. While standing, see if you can extend your back. You do this by leaning backwards, as if you were going to go back into a bridge. If the muscle is locked in contraction, extension will be limited.
To release the iliopsoas muscles, deep constant pressure is used along the length of the muscle from hips upward. The steady pressure must be maintained until it causes the golgi tendon apparatus in the muscle to relax. (As covered in a past Training Tip on the medical aspects of atemi / dim mak / vital point strikes the golgi tendon apparatus is what regulates muscular tension and knowledge of how to find and activate them explains many things in the arts.)
The best thing to do is to go to a professional massage therapist who specializes in deep tissue or better yet trigger-point work. Some applied kinesiologists incorporate this work as well. A session of about 20 minutes is needed to release the iliopsoas. The area is usually very sensitive and the work may be uncomfortable. Your therapist should be able to go slow enough to minimize the discomfort but let's just say that it's not the kind of massage where you're going to drift off to sleep.
To work this muscle yourself, lay on your back and work the area in the abdomen between the ribs and the hips about an inch or so out from the belly button. To locate this muscle do the following: with your hand at the top of your hip bone, turn your foot out and lift your leg straight up and you will feel the muscle move. Work slowly from hip to ribs, applying steady firm pressure and waiting for the release.
A great stretch for the iliopsoas is the cobra or 'upward dog' posture from Yoga. If you are unfamiliar with this, simply lay on your belly, put your hands on the floor by your shoulders, and press your upper body off the floor leaving your hips and legs flat. The gymnastic style back bridge (on the hands, not on the head) is another good stretch to try. Just do it over one of those large exercise balls if you're hurting.
The defense against this invisible assassin is keeping these muscles flexible and happy! You'll be amazed at the difference in your back comfort and increased range of motion.
From An Article at Stronglifts.com
Where and What is My Psoas? The Psoas is one of the largest and thickest muscles in the body. It attaches to the vertebrae of your lower back, and the head of your femur (thigh bone).
The Psoas is primarily responsible for hip and thigh flexion and has a lot of influence over your lumbar posture and the way your hips are positioned.
When you're sitting for a prolonged period of time, your Psoas is in a shortened position. Leave it for long enough, and it will start to think this is normal. Your tissues want to move into that resting position. Leaving you tight & contracted.
Incorrect posture during standing and walking (which is often caused by a tight Psoas) will leave it even tighter and harder to loosen.
Why Does It Cause Back Pain? A tight Psoas is a killer for your back for various reasons.
If it is tight and in a contracted state, your Psoas will want to bring your lower back forward, moving you into an anterior tilt: lordotic posture.
The pressure exerted by the Psoas whilst in a contracted state can compress the joints and discs of the lumbar vertebrae. This pressure causes degeneration and will make them more susceptible to injury.
A shortened Psoas on one side will pull the spine or pelvis to that side, leading to many painful problems, including scoliosis.
A tight Psoas will stop your Glutes firing and activating normally. This is Reciprocal Inhibition: the Psoas and the Glutes are opposing muscles.
Lack of Glute activity plus horrific posture can lead to overcompensation in other muscles of the back, leaving them tight and overworked. Couple this with the referring pain from the trigger points in your Psoas and you will be hurting.
Tips to Avoid A Tight Psoas. There are several ways to stop your Psoas turning into a hazardous plank of wood. All of which are easy to implement and should be even if you don’t suffer from back pain yet. Here goes…
Postural Corrections. If we stay in a certain position all day, our tissues will want to move into that resting position, in this case, your Psoas. The best sitting posture is one that always changes.
Sit Back in Your Chair. This will stop you leaning forward as much, and thus your Psoas won’t be in as shortened position in comparison to when you sit on the edge of your seat.
Stop Hooking Your Feet under Your Chair. You put yourself in more hip flexion and therefore, more Psoas activation. Set your feet flat on the floor, or a raised platform if you are a shortie.
Stand Up When Performing Exercises. You sit all day at work and keep your Psoas shortened. Do the opposite in the gym. Instead of the bike, get on the treadmill. Sub in Overhead Press instead of Seated Press.
Stop Sleeping on Your Stomach. When you are on your stomach, your back goes into hyperextension. This is exacerbating what a tight Psoas already does to your back (anterior tilt). Change it up.
Move More. Not staying in a seated position all day will go a long way to stopping you developing a tight Psoas. Get up more frequently, stretch more often, change positions… just keep moving!
Read on boys.
The Invisible Assassins: Iliopsoas
There is a hidden menace that any one of us could have to deal with as martial athletes. A pair of "invisible assassins" if you will, who can put you out of action and yet you'll never see them!
Why? Because they are hidden deep within your body!
I speak of a very important set of muscles that are essential to your everyday life yet are normally ignored; the iliopsosas!
The iliopsoas are actually 2 different muscles (Illiacus & Psoas), but they are often referred to together, because they work together. (Like the Quadriceps which are actually 4 separate muscles). These muscles attach at the low back, hip and upper leg bone. Their main function is to flex the hip. In addition to this, the psoas is one of the main reasons we are able to maintain an upright posture .
The problem comes in if the iliopsoas becomes overly contracted. This can be caused several ways. These include over training, improper technique in training, lack of stretching, and prolonged periods of sitting especially sitting with the knees higher than the hips like when in a car. With the emphasis on core strength training and dynamic motion from the dan-tien (harra in Japanese) that is inherent to the martial arts you see how these muscles can get over worked between conditioning and training!
This over-contraction of the iliopsoas will cause pain and limit your range of motion. Bending forward will be difficult and sitting will become near impossible, particularly anytime your knees are higher than your hips as mentioned.
What makes this particularly deceptive is the fact that the pain will NOT be felt in the iliopsoas but instead will be felt as referred pain elsewhere in the body! Typically the pain referral is in the lower back, hip, kidney region and even into the front of the thighs!
While massage work in those areas will feel nice temporarily, it will NOT deal with the root problem in the iliopsoas. Your relief if any will be temporary and the pain will return in time. This cycle will continue until the iliopsoas muscles get treatment to release them. This is not usually something that just goes away by itself.
Here's an easy test you can do to see if your iliopsoas is overly contracted. While standing, see if you can extend your back. You do this by leaning backwards, as if you were going to go back into a bridge. If the muscle is locked in contraction, extension will be limited.
To release the iliopsoas muscles, deep constant pressure is used along the length of the muscle from hips upward. The steady pressure must be maintained until it causes the golgi tendon apparatus in the muscle to relax. (As covered in a past Training Tip on the medical aspects of atemi / dim mak / vital point strikes the golgi tendon apparatus is what regulates muscular tension and knowledge of how to find and activate them explains many things in the arts.)
The best thing to do is to go to a professional massage therapist who specializes in deep tissue or better yet trigger-point work. Some applied kinesiologists incorporate this work as well. A session of about 20 minutes is needed to release the iliopsoas. The area is usually very sensitive and the work may be uncomfortable. Your therapist should be able to go slow enough to minimize the discomfort but let's just say that it's not the kind of massage where you're going to drift off to sleep.
To work this muscle yourself, lay on your back and work the area in the abdomen between the ribs and the hips about an inch or so out from the belly button. To locate this muscle do the following: with your hand at the top of your hip bone, turn your foot out and lift your leg straight up and you will feel the muscle move. Work slowly from hip to ribs, applying steady firm pressure and waiting for the release.
A great stretch for the iliopsoas is the cobra or 'upward dog' posture from Yoga. If you are unfamiliar with this, simply lay on your belly, put your hands on the floor by your shoulders, and press your upper body off the floor leaving your hips and legs flat. The gymnastic style back bridge (on the hands, not on the head) is another good stretch to try. Just do it over one of those large exercise balls if you're hurting.
The defense against this invisible assassin is keeping these muscles flexible and happy! You'll be amazed at the difference in your back comfort and increased range of motion.
From An Article at Stronglifts.com
Where and What is My Psoas? The Psoas is one of the largest and thickest muscles in the body. It attaches to the vertebrae of your lower back, and the head of your femur (thigh bone).
The Psoas is primarily responsible for hip and thigh flexion and has a lot of influence over your lumbar posture and the way your hips are positioned.
When you're sitting for a prolonged period of time, your Psoas is in a shortened position. Leave it for long enough, and it will start to think this is normal. Your tissues want to move into that resting position. Leaving you tight & contracted.
Incorrect posture during standing and walking (which is often caused by a tight Psoas) will leave it even tighter and harder to loosen.
Why Does It Cause Back Pain? A tight Psoas is a killer for your back for various reasons.
If it is tight and in a contracted state, your Psoas will want to bring your lower back forward, moving you into an anterior tilt: lordotic posture.
The pressure exerted by the Psoas whilst in a contracted state can compress the joints and discs of the lumbar vertebrae. This pressure causes degeneration and will make them more susceptible to injury.
A shortened Psoas on one side will pull the spine or pelvis to that side, leading to many painful problems, including scoliosis.
A tight Psoas will stop your Glutes firing and activating normally. This is Reciprocal Inhibition: the Psoas and the Glutes are opposing muscles.
Lack of Glute activity plus horrific posture can lead to overcompensation in other muscles of the back, leaving them tight and overworked. Couple this with the referring pain from the trigger points in your Psoas and you will be hurting.
Tips to Avoid A Tight Psoas. There are several ways to stop your Psoas turning into a hazardous plank of wood. All of which are easy to implement and should be even if you don’t suffer from back pain yet. Here goes…
Postural Corrections. If we stay in a certain position all day, our tissues will want to move into that resting position, in this case, your Psoas. The best sitting posture is one that always changes.
Sit Back in Your Chair. This will stop you leaning forward as much, and thus your Psoas won’t be in as shortened position in comparison to when you sit on the edge of your seat.
Stop Hooking Your Feet under Your Chair. You put yourself in more hip flexion and therefore, more Psoas activation. Set your feet flat on the floor, or a raised platform if you are a shortie.
Stand Up When Performing Exercises. You sit all day at work and keep your Psoas shortened. Do the opposite in the gym. Instead of the bike, get on the treadmill. Sub in Overhead Press instead of Seated Press.
Stop Sleeping on Your Stomach. When you are on your stomach, your back goes into hyperextension. This is exacerbating what a tight Psoas already does to your back (anterior tilt). Change it up.
Move More. Not staying in a seated position all day will go a long way to stopping you developing a tight Psoas. Get up more frequently, stretch more often, change positions… just keep moving!
Saturday, October 20, 2012
A Blast From The Past
Hmmm, I wonder what the DNC has to say about this...
The following is a link to the entire speech, Dec 1962.
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=9057
Sunday, October 14, 2012
And On The "Green" Front
The planet is several million years old. Accurate scientific records for weather recording only go back to about 1880. Do I believe in Climate Change? Yes I do. Do I believe the hype and bullshit being thrown around the last few years, and that man is behind Climate Change. No I don't.
I also believe that a whole bunch of people, scientists, businessmen, and politicians are using hype and scare tactics to gain wealth and power for themselves by using Climate change.
Fortunately there are other people out there who prefer to try putting facts out there for rest of us to use so that we can make our own informed decisions that are not based on emotional, and self serving drivel, put out by people and organizations that have something to gain.
For some facts, you can try reading "State Of Fear" by Michael Crichton. You can also try the link to the article below.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2217286/Global-warming-stopped-16-years-ago-reveals-Met-Office-report-quietly-released--chart-prove-it.html
I also believe that a whole bunch of people, scientists, businessmen, and politicians are using hype and scare tactics to gain wealth and power for themselves by using Climate change.
Fortunately there are other people out there who prefer to try putting facts out there for rest of us to use so that we can make our own informed decisions that are not based on emotional, and self serving drivel, put out by people and organizations that have something to gain.
For some facts, you can try reading "State Of Fear" by Michael Crichton. You can also try the link to the article below.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2217286/Global-warming-stopped-16-years-ago-reveals-Met-Office-report-quietly-released--chart-prove-it.html
Saturday, October 13, 2012
From Waco To Fast And Furious
You can always count on these guys to deliver the goods. I sleep SOOO much safer knowing these guys are on the job.
http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2012/10/12/atf_whistleblower_fired_in_dennys_parking_lot
http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2012/10/12/atf_whistleblower_fired_in_dennys_parking_lot
Monday, October 8, 2012
Think You Can Dispose Of Your Own Property As You See Fit?
Think again. Check out this article if you think you still live in a free market economy. The implications are phenomenal. It's like every muthafucka wants to put their hands in your pocket and take a piece of what you either worked or paid for.
You can't make this shit up.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/your-right-to-resell-your-own-stuff-is-in-peril-2012-10-04
You can't make this shit up.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/your-right-to-resell-your-own-stuff-is-in-peril-2012-10-04
Border Shooting Follow-Up
Here's the latest regarding the shooting of two Border Patrol officers last week. If you'll remember I was quite surprised at the fact that Mexican authorities actually arrested two suspects in record breaking time.
Well, read on guys, the story gets, as the old saying goes, "curiouser and curiouser".
http://www.mail.com/news/us/1614164-union-border-agents-opened-fire.html#.23140-stage-mostviewed1-5
Well, read on guys, the story gets, as the old saying goes, "curiouser and curiouser".
http://www.mail.com/news/us/1614164-union-border-agents-opened-fire.html#.23140-stage-mostviewed1-5
Thursday, October 4, 2012
It's Rough Being On the Border Patrol These Days.
Another agent killed, and his partner wounded.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/02/us-usa-border-shooting-idUSBRE8910LT20121002
Here's the follow up. Two arrests made, but who knows if these are actually the guys.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/03/us-usa-border-shooting-idUSBRE89203P20121003
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/02/us-usa-border-shooting-idUSBRE8910LT20121002
Here's the follow up. Two arrests made, but who knows if these are actually the guys.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/03/us-usa-border-shooting-idUSBRE89203P20121003
Monday, October 1, 2012
Sunday, September 30, 2012
For All You Guys With Shitty Lower Backs (like me)
You're Sitting On A Time Bomb By Paul Scott
Copyright Mens Health Magazine April 2008
Your office chair -- the foul line for every Nerf free throw and your box seat on the working world -- has you fooled. You think it makes you powerful when it really makes you weak. You think it rests the machinery of your back when it's silently causing your back to compress, crush, and fail. You think its adjustable armrests and hydraulic height control offer you choices, but the most important option of all -- the option to stand up and move -- is the critical way your chair undermines you.
We live in a free country, but sitting is mandatory. In the late 1980s, office workers spent 70 percent of their days seated. Today's desk jockeys ride the unforgiving chair 93 percent of the time. Those who are paid to do clerical work may spend closer to the full 100 percent. That's just the sitting required to earn a living. Add to that the growing number of hours you spend seated while commuting, watching 24, tracking your NCAA pool results, or doing pretty much anything on, say, a Bowflex, and the remainder of your day is one long game of musical chairs. Life treats you like the waiting room at the DMV. Take a number, be seated, and wait your turn for the big back attack.
But at least seated jobs are safer, right? After all, you can't crush a finger in the machinery of investment banking. Well, if desk duty lowers your risk of on-the-job amputation, it's now clear that sitting for a living will slowly but surely increase your risk of developing back problems. Occupational sitting can damage your back in a variety of ways, but the real demon unleashed by sitting comes from the mundane fact that your back is pulled out of its natural position when you place your legs at a 90-degree angle to your hips. Studies show that when you drop into a chair, your hips stop rotating after the first 60 degrees of descent. To move your legs the final 30 degrees into position, "the muscles of the back of your thighs pull the bottom of your pelvis forward to tip it backward," says Galen Cranz, Ph.D., a professor of architecture at the University of California at Berkeley and the author of The Chair, a withering criticism of our most ubiquitous piece of furniture.
"That," says Cranz, "flattens the lumbar curve." (If this were a horror movie, lightning would strike right now.)
For decades, researchers have argued that flattening the lumbar curve--the concave segment of the spine also known as the small of the back--leads to pain. But until Stuart McGill, Ph.D., first fired up his ominous-looking disk-herniation machine, no one had wrecked an actual spine to prove the point.
For 25 years, McGill, the director of the spine biomechanics lab and chairman of the department of kinesiology at the University of Waterloo, in Ontario, has rewritten the book on back-pain prevention. Where others have made guesses about how the back works, why it goes bad, and which exercises can help ward off pain, McGill has taken the measurements and run the experiments. He has produced some surprising results. By merging evidence-based medicine with real-world observations of everyone from office drones to pro athletes, McGill has debunked more than a few back-safety myths, starting with the popular advice to "lift with your legs, not your back." (It turns out you should lift with your hips, not your legs.) He has also cast doubt on the common misconception that drawing in your belly button when you exercise stabilizes your core. In McGill's view, you're far better off bracing your abdomen, much as you would if you were about to take a punch in the breadbasket.
Hoping to pry some of this secret knowledge away from the physiology-seminar circuit, I met McGill, an imposing former college football player with a walrus mustache and a handshake that could crush granite. I had a dual motive, the first part of which was to enlighten you, the chair-threatened reader. But I'm also the owner of a lumbar spine that first seized up on me after a rim-leaping drill on a basketball court at the age of 28, and it troubles me anew every time I take to the chair for multiday, 12-hour stretches to write articles like this one. I wanted, needed, to learn from the best.
Go on to the next page for more on the hazards of occupational sitting...
McGill's lab includes rooms for the study of spine biology, and computers loaded with software he designed to compute the forces placed on the spine during different exercises. There are infrared cameras to analyze spines under load, and rooms full of handmade plywood gizmos designed to explore the human backbone in action.
But the real wet work of McGill's quest -- the crushing, twisting, and flexing of actual spinal flesh and bones -- happens in a 12-by-12-foot chamber crowded with an x-ray machine, a workbench, and three specially designed materials-testing machines dedicated to wrecking newly harvested pig spines (courtesy of the local butcher). Essentially a set of high-end paint-can shakers, McGill's disk-herniation devices lock down connecting segments of a pig spine and then rattle them enough in a matter of hours to simulate a lifetime's worth of flexing, rotating, and compressing.
"The machines flex, bend, twist, shear, and compress," McGill says of the devices. "They show us exactly what too much sitting can do."
On the occasion of my visit, a Ph.D. student, Janessa Drake, was busy using aluminum and wires to prepare a pig's spinal segment for analysis in one of the bone-rattling protocols. It's not squeamishness that led McGill to use pig spines instead of human ones. Donor human backbones are generally too weathered from use to reveal much about the way healthy spines respond to repeated flexion, he says. And besides, "a pig neck, believe it or not, is really close in size to the human lumbar vertebrae, and it gets injured in the same way."
Fresh from the butcher, a 3-foot-long section of bagged and taped porcine vertebrae sits on the floor at my feet. "It's pretty close in size to yours," McGill says, eyeing me.
As it happens, these pigs gave their lives for something more than just breakfast at the local diner. McGill has learned that for those of us who are susceptible, simply flexing the lower back while sitting in a chair -- with no load whatsoever -- will wreck the disks as surely as entering a strongman contest while drunk will. Thanks to McGill's disk-herniation machine, we now know that as few as 6,000 bends of the spine under the weight of your upper body is all it takes to cause the gel at the center of your disks to herniate or even rupture their outer casings.
The degree of damage caused by repeated spinal flexion varies, and the damage can be offset by rest and exercise. Pain arises when disk gel finally herniates (by bulging like an inner tube out of a tire) or ruptures altogether. In both cases, disk matter comes into contact with nerves. Either way, McGill puts one issue to rest: Nothing wrecks the back like a chair. "We tried many ways to induce disk herniation," he says. "The easiest way was through repeated flexion."
If all he did was wreck disks, you might write McGill off as a Dr. Frankenstein of the spine--a brilliant man who needs to come out of his dungeon once in a while. But McGill has more experience with the human back than perhaps any other scientist in his field. He is sought out to evaluate back cases by the NBA, NFL, NHL, PGA, Major League Baseball, world-class powerlifters, and athletes from nearly every Olympic sport.
These elite athletes return from their pilgrimages to McGill's lab and research clinic armed with some of the same basic back advice he offers to healthy young people whose only liability is too much time spent in chairs: The spine is at its strongest in its neutral position, the S-shaped alignment of your 33 vertebral bones with interconnecting disks. Save your S, and you'll use the lumbar curve to balance the weight of your head over your center of gravity and keep your spine out of the red zone. If you sit for a living, he says, there is no better use of your workout time than to begin training your back smarter, and to do so while it is still healthy. "It's hard to motivate the uninjured," McGill says. "Once they're injured, I have their attention."
The four horsemen of the spinal apocalypse
The conventional wisdom on back pain has proved woefully inadequate. For decades, we've heard that back troubles spring from two factors -- weak abdominal muscles and tight hamstrings. This version of back pathology generates the same rudimentary advice: Strengthen your abs with situps, and stretch your hamstrings with leg stretches. McGill insists that some of this advice is too general, some is flat-out wrong, and some can actually increase your risk of back injury. The reason some backs go bad is neither tight hamstrings nor weak abdominals, he says, but because of problems with the activation patterns of those muscles. So he's more concerned about the four types of loads on the back -- flexion, shear, compression, and twisting. Counteracting them is like taking out a major insurance policy on back health.
1. Flexion
When it comes to your back, too much flexibility is bad. Flexing your lumbar curve with every descent into a chair may hasten the destruction of your vertebral disks, and it creates an additional danger by causing your spinal ligaments to become dangerously lax. People with back pain have less stable spines than those who are healthy, and that probably puts their disks at risk, too. The importance of having a tight spine -- that is, a spine well supported by muscles and ligaments -- has made McGill not only wary of excessive stretching but also more inclined to warn athletes of the risk of sitting for a lengthy period and then springing up to do something arduous. "Your spinal ligaments can stay lax for an additional 20 minutes after you stand up," says McGill. You know all those NBA guys with balky backs? Think about the toll placed on benchwarmers required to sit "with their knees in their ears" and then told to go box out Dwight Howard.
2. Shear
Shear forces are incredibly destructive to your back. When you bend from your lumbar curve (flattening the S) and then compound the mistake by picking up something heavy, shearing forces are generated by the back-to-front sliding pressure placed on your disks. It may sound like a boneheaded thing to do, but during any given day we find a way to impose shear on our spines every 15 minutes or so. Lean forward from your chair to stand up, for example, and you subject your vertebrae to shear. However, if you pull your shoulders back and chest up, and hinge forward at the hips to rise straight up from your chair, your back will be safely locked in its neutral position. If you're thinking that this instruction is about good posture simply for good posture's sake, consider the specific anatomical rationale for moving with your back locked in neutral. When you do this, you protect your back from shear, thanks to the orientation of the fibers of two vertical lumbar muscles known as the longissimus and the iliocostalis. Allow your lower back to become flattened or rounded, however, and the fibers of those two muscles turn almost parallel to your spine, which virtually eliminates their ability to offset shear.
3. Compression
Bending and lifting both compress your spine on an incre-mental basis, but one-time mishaps, such as squatting with too much weight, slipping and landing on your rear, or hitting a hard spot while riding a toboggan, can also pile-drive your disks. Traumatic compression injury begins with the silent disaster of a vertebral plate cracking, which sets into motion the gradual flattening of your disks, a process that eventually leads to pain. But even if you've religiously avoided bashing your tailbone, you could still be in trouble. People who sit for most of the day are asking for it, because a desk chair imposes a low-grade but long-term compressive load. "If you sit in a slouch," says McGill, "your ligaments compress the spine. If you sit upright, your muscles start compressing the spine."
Your only solution is to use a chair with good lumbar support and to make sure the lumbar-support cushion is nestled into your S curve. Also, raise the seat, com-puter screen, keyboard, and desk surface closer to barstool height. This puts your hips in the 120-to-135-degree range and helps your spine remain in neutral. And take breaks from sitting: Stand up to answer the phone, and visit -- don't e-mail -- a colleague.
4. Twisting
Rotating your upper body without simultaneously rotating your pelvis will, over time, slowly squeeze the gel from your disks and damage their outer layers. If you're seated as you read this and you need clarification, take note: "When you're at your desk and you keep twisting to reach your phone, every twist while flexing creates a combined load, which doubles the destructive effect," McGill says.
Of course, rotational exercises -- cable woodchoppers, twisting medicine-ball throws, and oblique crunches, for example -- have become commonplace in the past few years. Are they spine wreckers? It is possible to rotate without increasing your risk of spinal load, says McGill, if you move your upper and lower body as a single unit. To preserve the neutral spine position while doing rotational exercises, imagine that you've nailed boards from the bottom of your rib cage to the top of your hips so your pelvis and rib cage move as a block. Ignore this advice at your own risk. "Twisting torque," McGill cautions, "creates four to five times the load on the disks compared with other kinds of movements."
So now that you've met the four horsemen, what will you do? It's quite simple. Respect your spinal S curve. Don't flatten it or overload it, and surround and fortify it with muscle. And back pain will be one more grumpy-old-man ailment you'll never have to complain about.
Copyright Mens Health Magazine April 2008
Your office chair -- the foul line for every Nerf free throw and your box seat on the working world -- has you fooled. You think it makes you powerful when it really makes you weak. You think it rests the machinery of your back when it's silently causing your back to compress, crush, and fail. You think its adjustable armrests and hydraulic height control offer you choices, but the most important option of all -- the option to stand up and move -- is the critical way your chair undermines you.
We live in a free country, but sitting is mandatory. In the late 1980s, office workers spent 70 percent of their days seated. Today's desk jockeys ride the unforgiving chair 93 percent of the time. Those who are paid to do clerical work may spend closer to the full 100 percent. That's just the sitting required to earn a living. Add to that the growing number of hours you spend seated while commuting, watching 24, tracking your NCAA pool results, or doing pretty much anything on, say, a Bowflex, and the remainder of your day is one long game of musical chairs. Life treats you like the waiting room at the DMV. Take a number, be seated, and wait your turn for the big back attack.
But at least seated jobs are safer, right? After all, you can't crush a finger in the machinery of investment banking. Well, if desk duty lowers your risk of on-the-job amputation, it's now clear that sitting for a living will slowly but surely increase your risk of developing back problems. Occupational sitting can damage your back in a variety of ways, but the real demon unleashed by sitting comes from the mundane fact that your back is pulled out of its natural position when you place your legs at a 90-degree angle to your hips. Studies show that when you drop into a chair, your hips stop rotating after the first 60 degrees of descent. To move your legs the final 30 degrees into position, "the muscles of the back of your thighs pull the bottom of your pelvis forward to tip it backward," says Galen Cranz, Ph.D., a professor of architecture at the University of California at Berkeley and the author of The Chair, a withering criticism of our most ubiquitous piece of furniture.
"That," says Cranz, "flattens the lumbar curve." (If this were a horror movie, lightning would strike right now.)
For decades, researchers have argued that flattening the lumbar curve--the concave segment of the spine also known as the small of the back--leads to pain. But until Stuart McGill, Ph.D., first fired up his ominous-looking disk-herniation machine, no one had wrecked an actual spine to prove the point.
For 25 years, McGill, the director of the spine biomechanics lab and chairman of the department of kinesiology at the University of Waterloo, in Ontario, has rewritten the book on back-pain prevention. Where others have made guesses about how the back works, why it goes bad, and which exercises can help ward off pain, McGill has taken the measurements and run the experiments. He has produced some surprising results. By merging evidence-based medicine with real-world observations of everyone from office drones to pro athletes, McGill has debunked more than a few back-safety myths, starting with the popular advice to "lift with your legs, not your back." (It turns out you should lift with your hips, not your legs.) He has also cast doubt on the common misconception that drawing in your belly button when you exercise stabilizes your core. In McGill's view, you're far better off bracing your abdomen, much as you would if you were about to take a punch in the breadbasket.
Hoping to pry some of this secret knowledge away from the physiology-seminar circuit, I met McGill, an imposing former college football player with a walrus mustache and a handshake that could crush granite. I had a dual motive, the first part of which was to enlighten you, the chair-threatened reader. But I'm also the owner of a lumbar spine that first seized up on me after a rim-leaping drill on a basketball court at the age of 28, and it troubles me anew every time I take to the chair for multiday, 12-hour stretches to write articles like this one. I wanted, needed, to learn from the best.
Go on to the next page for more on the hazards of occupational sitting...
McGill's lab includes rooms for the study of spine biology, and computers loaded with software he designed to compute the forces placed on the spine during different exercises. There are infrared cameras to analyze spines under load, and rooms full of handmade plywood gizmos designed to explore the human backbone in action.
But the real wet work of McGill's quest -- the crushing, twisting, and flexing of actual spinal flesh and bones -- happens in a 12-by-12-foot chamber crowded with an x-ray machine, a workbench, and three specially designed materials-testing machines dedicated to wrecking newly harvested pig spines (courtesy of the local butcher). Essentially a set of high-end paint-can shakers, McGill's disk-herniation devices lock down connecting segments of a pig spine and then rattle them enough in a matter of hours to simulate a lifetime's worth of flexing, rotating, and compressing.
"The machines flex, bend, twist, shear, and compress," McGill says of the devices. "They show us exactly what too much sitting can do."
On the occasion of my visit, a Ph.D. student, Janessa Drake, was busy using aluminum and wires to prepare a pig's spinal segment for analysis in one of the bone-rattling protocols. It's not squeamishness that led McGill to use pig spines instead of human ones. Donor human backbones are generally too weathered from use to reveal much about the way healthy spines respond to repeated flexion, he says. And besides, "a pig neck, believe it or not, is really close in size to the human lumbar vertebrae, and it gets injured in the same way."
Fresh from the butcher, a 3-foot-long section of bagged and taped porcine vertebrae sits on the floor at my feet. "It's pretty close in size to yours," McGill says, eyeing me.
As it happens, these pigs gave their lives for something more than just breakfast at the local diner. McGill has learned that for those of us who are susceptible, simply flexing the lower back while sitting in a chair -- with no load whatsoever -- will wreck the disks as surely as entering a strongman contest while drunk will. Thanks to McGill's disk-herniation machine, we now know that as few as 6,000 bends of the spine under the weight of your upper body is all it takes to cause the gel at the center of your disks to herniate or even rupture their outer casings.
The degree of damage caused by repeated spinal flexion varies, and the damage can be offset by rest and exercise. Pain arises when disk gel finally herniates (by bulging like an inner tube out of a tire) or ruptures altogether. In both cases, disk matter comes into contact with nerves. Either way, McGill puts one issue to rest: Nothing wrecks the back like a chair. "We tried many ways to induce disk herniation," he says. "The easiest way was through repeated flexion."
If all he did was wreck disks, you might write McGill off as a Dr. Frankenstein of the spine--a brilliant man who needs to come out of his dungeon once in a while. But McGill has more experience with the human back than perhaps any other scientist in his field. He is sought out to evaluate back cases by the NBA, NFL, NHL, PGA, Major League Baseball, world-class powerlifters, and athletes from nearly every Olympic sport.
These elite athletes return from their pilgrimages to McGill's lab and research clinic armed with some of the same basic back advice he offers to healthy young people whose only liability is too much time spent in chairs: The spine is at its strongest in its neutral position, the S-shaped alignment of your 33 vertebral bones with interconnecting disks. Save your S, and you'll use the lumbar curve to balance the weight of your head over your center of gravity and keep your spine out of the red zone. If you sit for a living, he says, there is no better use of your workout time than to begin training your back smarter, and to do so while it is still healthy. "It's hard to motivate the uninjured," McGill says. "Once they're injured, I have their attention."
The four horsemen of the spinal apocalypse
The conventional wisdom on back pain has proved woefully inadequate. For decades, we've heard that back troubles spring from two factors -- weak abdominal muscles and tight hamstrings. This version of back pathology generates the same rudimentary advice: Strengthen your abs with situps, and stretch your hamstrings with leg stretches. McGill insists that some of this advice is too general, some is flat-out wrong, and some can actually increase your risk of back injury. The reason some backs go bad is neither tight hamstrings nor weak abdominals, he says, but because of problems with the activation patterns of those muscles. So he's more concerned about the four types of loads on the back -- flexion, shear, compression, and twisting. Counteracting them is like taking out a major insurance policy on back health.
1. Flexion
When it comes to your back, too much flexibility is bad. Flexing your lumbar curve with every descent into a chair may hasten the destruction of your vertebral disks, and it creates an additional danger by causing your spinal ligaments to become dangerously lax. People with back pain have less stable spines than those who are healthy, and that probably puts their disks at risk, too. The importance of having a tight spine -- that is, a spine well supported by muscles and ligaments -- has made McGill not only wary of excessive stretching but also more inclined to warn athletes of the risk of sitting for a lengthy period and then springing up to do something arduous. "Your spinal ligaments can stay lax for an additional 20 minutes after you stand up," says McGill. You know all those NBA guys with balky backs? Think about the toll placed on benchwarmers required to sit "with their knees in their ears" and then told to go box out Dwight Howard.
2. Shear
Shear forces are incredibly destructive to your back. When you bend from your lumbar curve (flattening the S) and then compound the mistake by picking up something heavy, shearing forces are generated by the back-to-front sliding pressure placed on your disks. It may sound like a boneheaded thing to do, but during any given day we find a way to impose shear on our spines every 15 minutes or so. Lean forward from your chair to stand up, for example, and you subject your vertebrae to shear. However, if you pull your shoulders back and chest up, and hinge forward at the hips to rise straight up from your chair, your back will be safely locked in its neutral position. If you're thinking that this instruction is about good posture simply for good posture's sake, consider the specific anatomical rationale for moving with your back locked in neutral. When you do this, you protect your back from shear, thanks to the orientation of the fibers of two vertical lumbar muscles known as the longissimus and the iliocostalis. Allow your lower back to become flattened or rounded, however, and the fibers of those two muscles turn almost parallel to your spine, which virtually eliminates their ability to offset shear.
3. Compression
Bending and lifting both compress your spine on an incre-mental basis, but one-time mishaps, such as squatting with too much weight, slipping and landing on your rear, or hitting a hard spot while riding a toboggan, can also pile-drive your disks. Traumatic compression injury begins with the silent disaster of a vertebral plate cracking, which sets into motion the gradual flattening of your disks, a process that eventually leads to pain. But even if you've religiously avoided bashing your tailbone, you could still be in trouble. People who sit for most of the day are asking for it, because a desk chair imposes a low-grade but long-term compressive load. "If you sit in a slouch," says McGill, "your ligaments compress the spine. If you sit upright, your muscles start compressing the spine."
Your only solution is to use a chair with good lumbar support and to make sure the lumbar-support cushion is nestled into your S curve. Also, raise the seat, com-puter screen, keyboard, and desk surface closer to barstool height. This puts your hips in the 120-to-135-degree range and helps your spine remain in neutral. And take breaks from sitting: Stand up to answer the phone, and visit -- don't e-mail -- a colleague.
4. Twisting
Rotating your upper body without simultaneously rotating your pelvis will, over time, slowly squeeze the gel from your disks and damage their outer layers. If you're seated as you read this and you need clarification, take note: "When you're at your desk and you keep twisting to reach your phone, every twist while flexing creates a combined load, which doubles the destructive effect," McGill says.
Of course, rotational exercises -- cable woodchoppers, twisting medicine-ball throws, and oblique crunches, for example -- have become commonplace in the past few years. Are they spine wreckers? It is possible to rotate without increasing your risk of spinal load, says McGill, if you move your upper and lower body as a single unit. To preserve the neutral spine position while doing rotational exercises, imagine that you've nailed boards from the bottom of your rib cage to the top of your hips so your pelvis and rib cage move as a block. Ignore this advice at your own risk. "Twisting torque," McGill cautions, "creates four to five times the load on the disks compared with other kinds of movements."
So now that you've met the four horsemen, what will you do? It's quite simple. Respect your spinal S curve. Don't flatten it or overload it, and surround and fortify it with muscle. And back pain will be one more grumpy-old-man ailment you'll never have to complain about.
Friday, September 28, 2012
Oh yeah, I Just Love These Guys....
Now these weasals want to put their hands in our pockets. The shit never ends.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/09/27/as-un-opens-its-general-assembly-session-it-is-already-thinking-up-new-global/
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/09/27/as-un-opens-its-general-assembly-session-it-is-already-thinking-up-new-global/
Monday, September 24, 2012
Question; What Have We Learned In The Last 2,067 Years?
"The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled,
public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be
tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should
be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to
work, instead of living on public assistance."
- Cicero - 55 BC
Answer; Apparently nothing
public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be
tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should
be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to
work, instead of living on public assistance."
- Cicero - 55 BC
Answer; Apparently nothing
Sunday, September 23, 2012
U.S. Marines Still On The Cutting Edge
It's nice to see some practical material being disseminated for a change. Looks like MCMAP is still ahead of the Army Combatives program.
Can anyone say "Put Em Down, Take Em Out"?
USMC Knife Fighting - Prison Style
Can anyone say "Put Em Down, Take Em Out"?
USMC Knife Fighting - Prison Style
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Buzz, Buzz, Buzz
I've become a bit of a Drone technology aficionado the last couple of years. The link to the article below certainly piqued my interest. Personally, based on what I've seen and read, I don't think things have reached the point shown in the article. But I do believe that somewhere, someone, is spending money (probably OUR tax dollars) on developing these things.
Time marches on, and technology never sleeps.
http://www.snopes.com/photos/technology/insectdrone.asp
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Good Old Janet Is At It Again
I wish I had as much money to spend on ammo. Then again, when you're government agency using taxpayer money, who cares, right?
http://www.infowars.com/dhs-purchases-200-million-more-rounds-of-ammunition/
http://www.infowars.com/dhs-purchases-200-million-more-rounds-of-ammunition/
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Posted For Your Edification
I do believe that this gives a whole new meaning to the term 'Bible Thumper'
Sunday, September 9, 2012
It's Amazing....
.....what one good man with a gun (and the will to use it) can do.
My favorite part is at around the 17 second mark where the one dipshit not only drops his gun, but loses both of his shoes. LOL!!!!!
http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_c3#/video/bestoftv/2012/08/31/pkg-security-guard-shoots-thieves-internet-cafe.wesh
My favorite part is at around the 17 second mark where the one dipshit not only drops his gun, but loses both of his shoes. LOL!!!!!
http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_c3#/video/bestoftv/2012/08/31/pkg-security-guard-shoots-thieves-internet-cafe.wesh
Saturday, September 8, 2012
This Is Good For Some Painful Laughs
I've always appreciated the concept/idea behind Crossfit, but it didn't take too long to turn into just a way for a small group of people to make money off of a larger group of people. They have to keep certifying more instructors, so Greg G. (The Coach) can take in enough cash to stay ahead of the lawsuits.
I've had to just add a link (see at bottom) since Blogger is not letting me show the Youtube clip directly. The sad part is that yes, you can show me literally hundreds, if not thousands, of great clips of people doing Crossfit, but it's easy to show off your stars and ignore the failures. The real problem with the clips shown in the compilation video is that these numbnuts are not doing their "workout" in some basement or backyard. Rather, they are doing it in their regular gyms, and at some Crossfit competitions.
As the guy narrating the clips constantly asks, Where are the coaches?, Who taught these people their form? etc.
As the saying goes, "You can't make this shit up."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUmUcPJtLtQ
I've had to just add a link (see at bottom) since Blogger is not letting me show the Youtube clip directly. The sad part is that yes, you can show me literally hundreds, if not thousands, of great clips of people doing Crossfit, but it's easy to show off your stars and ignore the failures. The real problem with the clips shown in the compilation video is that these numbnuts are not doing their "workout" in some basement or backyard. Rather, they are doing it in their regular gyms, and at some Crossfit competitions.
As the guy narrating the clips constantly asks, Where are the coaches?, Who taught these people their form? etc.
As the saying goes, "You can't make this shit up."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUmUcPJtLtQ
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Another "Interesting" Day At Work.
This is the first sign you see on the entrance gate of the Switching Station I went to yesterday. The station is home to both rattlesnakes, and copperheads.
This is how I spent the anniversary of my 40 years of service with the company. They should probably put that sign on the door of the Board of Directors who run the company these days.
I love having a desk job! LOL!!
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Friday, August 17, 2012
He's Back!!
Les (Survivorman) Stroud, is back. The man's nuts, but he never fails to inform and entertain.
What new abuses will he heap on himself in order to show people what it really takes to survive under some of the harshest conditions that planet earth has to offer?
To find out just go to the DISCOVERY Channel, this Sunday (8-19) at 8:PM EST.
What new abuses will he heap on himself in order to show people what it really takes to survive under some of the harshest conditions that planet earth has to offer?
To find out just go to the DISCOVERY Channel, this Sunday (8-19) at 8:PM EST.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
The Wonder Of Modern Technology
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2187801/Were-watching-The-camera-recognise-Facebook-picture-time-walk-shop.html
It never ends, If you check out the 2nd or 3rd commenter after the article, you'll see the real problem here. As he says, if the government tried to do this , everybody would scream. Hoever if a business does it, and offers you a discount on the useless crap that you're in the store to buy, people will lap it up.
It never ends, If you check out the 2nd or 3rd commenter after the article, you'll see the real problem here. As he says, if the government tried to do this , everybody would scream. Hoever if a business does it, and offers you a discount on the useless crap that you're in the store to buy, people will lap it up.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
They're At It Again!
They're like rust, they never sleep. They lay awake nights thinking of ways to make peoples lives miserable and then try to tell everyone it's for their own good.
http://www.infowars.com/tsa-expands-invasion-to-ca-train-stations-bus-terminals
http://www.infowars.com/tsa-expands-invasion-to-ca-train-stations-bus-terminals
Saturday, July 14, 2012
The Border Patrol Is NOT Happy
And who could blame them? Apparently their "parent" organization the DHS has issued new instructions on how to handle an Active Shooter situation, and the BP is highly insulted.
My question is, are the security details for the top DHS managers going to follow the mandated protocols?
Hmmmmmm, I wonder?
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/06/29/border-patrol-union-claims-homeland-security-safety-course-promotes/?test=latestnews
My question is, are the security details for the top DHS managers going to follow the mandated protocols?
Hmmmmmm, I wonder?
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/06/29/border-patrol-union-claims-homeland-security-safety-course-promotes/?test=latestnews
Thursday, July 12, 2012
The DHS (And Technology) Never Sleeps
There are SO many things I could say about this article, but I have enough aggravation in my life right now, so why bother. I'll just let you read for yourselves.
Remember, this is not from a tin-foil beanie site, this is from a site that simply reports on new, cutting edge technology.
http://gizmodo.com/5923980/the-secret-government-laser-that-instantly-knows-everything-about-you
Remember, this is not from a tin-foil beanie site, this is from a site that simply reports on new, cutting edge technology.
http://gizmodo.com/5923980/the-secret-government-laser-that-instantly-knows-everything-about-you
Monday, June 25, 2012
More on The first Americane Seminar
And a great day was had by all. The weather was a little hot, but overall it was pretty nice. At a small park in Queens, Ralph G. gave a 4 hour seminar on his Americane system. Based on selected portions of existing stick, cane, bayonet, and even kendo style techniques, a happy bunch of eager learners happily pounded themselves while learning an effective, practical, real world way of self defense with a walking stick or cane. Reverse grip, forward grip, tip thrusts, butt strokes and two handed swings were the order of the day.B
y the time the day was over, Advil was king, and my son had managed to crack me in the shin with the hardwood walking stick that I had made for him years ago. He said it was an accident, but I saw the smile on his face.......
Fortunately the few local residents who happened by just looked on at the crazy people swinging sticks, and then just moved on without feeling the need to contact the local constabulary. It was a fine day with good people, and a great instructor. And for those of you who have yet to pick up the Americane Manual, available at;
What the hell are you waiting for???
Oh, and just in case you missed my original review of the manual (and NO, I do NOT make any commission for plugging the book).
http://wwwblackthorn.blogspot.com/2010/11/americane-review.html
The Real Origin Of The Boy Scouts
How Baden-Powell really founded the Scouting Movement. True history, and a fascinating read.
http://www.neatorama.com/2012/06/22/forged-in-the-heat-of-battle-the-origin-of-the-boy-scouts/
Sunday, June 24, 2012
A Day In The Park
And a fine time was had by all. The sound of wood striking wood, shin guards, and occasionally my shin.
Americane in action, Nothing like it!
Sunday, April 8, 2012
An Era Comes To An End As Last Living Members Of The Devils Brigade Die
And a little bit spooky it is, too.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2124755/Black-Devils-veterans-served-World-War-II-die-12-hours-apart-Helena-Montana.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2124755/Black-Devils-veterans-served-World-War-II-die-12-hours-apart-Helena-Montana.html
Thursday, April 5, 2012
What Has America Become
Letter to the Editor of a Michigan Newspaper.
Thanks to Mike K. for bringing it to my attention.
What has America become?
Editor,
Has America become the land of special interest and home of the double standard?
Lets see: if we lie to the Congress, it’s a felony and if the Congress lies to us its just politics; if we dislike a black person, we’re racist and if a black person dislikes whites, its their 1st Amendment right; the government spends millions to rehabilitate criminals and they do almost nothing for the victims; in public schools you can teach that homosexuality is OK, but you better not use the word God in the process; you can kill an unborn child, but it is wrong to execute a mass murderer; we don’t burn books in America, we now rewrite them; we got rid of communist and socialist threats by renaming them progressive; we are unable to close our border with Mexico, but have no problem protecting the 38th parallel in Korea; if you protest against President Obama’s policies you’re a terrorist, but if you burned an American flag or George Bush in effigy it was your 1st Amendment right.
You can have pornography on TV or the internet, but you better not put a nativity scene in a public park during Christmas; we have eliminated all criminals in America, they are now called sick people; we can use a human fetus for medical research, but it is wrong to use an animal.
We take money from those who work hard for it and give it to those who don’t want to work; we all support the Constitution, but only when it supports our political ideology; we still have freedom of speech, but only if we are being politically correct; parenting has been replaced with Ritalin and video games; the land of opportunity is now the land of hand outs; the similarity between Hurricane Katrina and the gulf oil spill is that neither president did anything to help.
And how do we handle a major crisis today? The government appoints a committee to determine who’s at fault, then threatens them, passes a law, raises our taxes; tells us the problem is solved so they can get back to their reelection campaign.
What has happened to the land of the free and home of the brave?
- Ken Huber
Tawas City
Original Letter to the Editor as it appeared in the Iosco County News Herald…
Thanks to Mike K. for bringing it to my attention.
What has America become?
Editor,
Has America become the land of special interest and home of the double standard?
Lets see: if we lie to the Congress, it’s a felony and if the Congress lies to us its just politics; if we dislike a black person, we’re racist and if a black person dislikes whites, its their 1st Amendment right; the government spends millions to rehabilitate criminals and they do almost nothing for the victims; in public schools you can teach that homosexuality is OK, but you better not use the word God in the process; you can kill an unborn child, but it is wrong to execute a mass murderer; we don’t burn books in America, we now rewrite them; we got rid of communist and socialist threats by renaming them progressive; we are unable to close our border with Mexico, but have no problem protecting the 38th parallel in Korea; if you protest against President Obama’s policies you’re a terrorist, but if you burned an American flag or George Bush in effigy it was your 1st Amendment right.
You can have pornography on TV or the internet, but you better not put a nativity scene in a public park during Christmas; we have eliminated all criminals in America, they are now called sick people; we can use a human fetus for medical research, but it is wrong to use an animal.
We take money from those who work hard for it and give it to those who don’t want to work; we all support the Constitution, but only when it supports our political ideology; we still have freedom of speech, but only if we are being politically correct; parenting has been replaced with Ritalin and video games; the land of opportunity is now the land of hand outs; the similarity between Hurricane Katrina and the gulf oil spill is that neither president did anything to help.
And how do we handle a major crisis today? The government appoints a committee to determine who’s at fault, then threatens them, passes a law, raises our taxes; tells us the problem is solved so they can get back to their reelection campaign.
What has happened to the land of the free and home of the brave?
- Ken Huber
Tawas City
Original Letter to the Editor as it appeared in the Iosco County News Herald…
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Borders??? We Don't Need No Steeenking Borders...
Hmmm... Looks like Janet Nappy is at it again in cahoots with the people who don't seem to believe we need something that vaguely resembles border security, or the enforcement of existing laws (except for when THEY want to enforce them).
http://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/2012/04/dhs-to-grant-illegal-aliens-unlawful-presence-waivers/
http://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/2012/04/dhs-to-grant-illegal-aliens-unlawful-presence-waivers/
Monday, April 2, 2012
WHOA!! Hold The Presses...
A road bump on the Slippery Slope, in NY State of all places.See guys, even budget shortfalls can sometimes have silver linings!
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/cuomo_whacks_pataki_gun_law_IdjMJUXtMATKjhzqCOJLAK
Sunday, April 1, 2012
The Slippery Slope Part 3
Again, it always seems like, "good, another tool for LE to use against the bad guys". But as I have stated before, all it takes is for an administration who doesn't like "your" political beliefs to come to power, and before you know it, it's you in their sights.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/us/police-tracking-of-cellphones-raises-privacy-fears.html?_r=2&ei=5065&partner=MYWAY&pagewanted=print
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/us/police-tracking-of-cellphones-raises-privacy-fears.html?_r=2&ei=5065&partner=MYWAY&pagewanted=print
Thursday, March 29, 2012
An Unfortunate Choice of Cover Picture
For the old Rifleman comic book from the 1960's.
This is NOT Photoshopped.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Data Is King.....
And it even has a fortress with a moat to prove it.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/story/2012-03-25/visa-data-center/53774904/1
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/story/2012-03-25/visa-data-center/53774904/1
Saturday, March 24, 2012
The Slippery Slope Part 2
Again, as I stated a few weeks back, this is the type of thing that gets out of hand if the people in charge are of a different "attitude" than yourself.
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/03/mystery-nsl/
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/03/mystery-nsl/
Monday, March 12, 2012
US Medical Response To BioTerror
Ever wondered just how well prepared the US to respond as regards to providing medical assistance to its citizens in the event of a major Biological or Chemical event? Or for that matter to any large scale disaster or terrorist incident?
Well, it's not going to be quite what you think it is.
http://www.cnas.org/files/documents/publications/DanzigBleekKleinfeld_Bioterror_June07.pdf
This document is 68 pages gentlemen, so make sure you have some time to spare to read it.
Well, it's not going to be quite what you think it is.
http://www.cnas.org/files/documents/publications/DanzigBleekKleinfeld_Bioterror_June07.pdf
This document is 68 pages gentlemen, so make sure you have some time to spare to read it.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
OK, Here's Another Piece Of Official Asshole-Dom
Crackpot, Or just somebody with a some actual brains.
You Decide.
http://tsaoutofourpants.wordpress.com/2012/03/06/1b-of-nude-body-scanners-made-worthless-by-blog-how-anyone-can-get-anything-past-the-tsas-nude-body-scanners/
You Decide.
http://tsaoutofourpants.wordpress.com/2012/03/06/1b-of-nude-body-scanners-made-worthless-by-blog-how-anyone-can-get-anything-past-the-tsas-nude-body-scanners/
The Slippery Slope Gets Steeper
On the surface, I can easily see some aspects of why this would be a good thing for LEO's. On the other side of the coin though, I can also see where this could easily be abused.
Remember, any time a law is passed that grants the Security & Law Enforcement communities some new ability to go get the "Bad Guys", it's usually only a matter of time until a shift in the prevailing govmnt.'s way of thinking allows them to go after the people that the new official bosses deem to be a "problem".
Which could potentially be you, simply because the new guys in charge dislike you, just as much as you dislike them.
http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2012/03/06/police-given-direct-line-to-cell-phone-searches/
Remember, any time a law is passed that grants the Security & Law Enforcement communities some new ability to go get the "Bad Guys", it's usually only a matter of time until a shift in the prevailing govmnt.'s way of thinking allows them to go after the people that the new official bosses deem to be a "problem".
Which could potentially be you, simply because the new guys in charge dislike you, just as much as you dislike them.
http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2012/03/06/police-given-direct-line-to-cell-phone-searches/
Saturday, March 3, 2012
New Law Passed, Back To The Future..
And mind you, this was sponsored and introduced by a Repub.
http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/globalguerrillas/2012/03/hr-341-neo-feudal-rights-bill-.html
GlobalGuerilla's is always worth a visit folks. Is John Robb overstating the "unintended consequence" of this bill? As he states, once a law is passed, just a word or two in it's makeup can allow it to be twisted to suit the need of those who are able to use it to their own advantage. In NYC, they originally banned detachable magazines over 5 rounds. However, the same law with no changes to the language whatsoever is used to restrict any magazine, even if it's affixed to the firearm. Lever action, Pump, Bolt. The slippery slope continues.......
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
More Official Asshole-Dom
Everybody's favorite Governmental entity is at it again. I've seen them at airports, and I've seen them at train stations in NYC.
I wasn't impressed.
Apparently I'm not the only one.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2012/02/29/the-tsa-is-coming-to-a-highway-near-you/
I wasn't impressed.
Apparently I'm not the only one.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2012/02/29/the-tsa-is-coming-to-a-highway-near-you/
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Things Are Heating Up In Detroit
With the city budget cut to shreds, the economy barely hanging in there, and whole neighborhoods being slated for demolition (because a there are almost no residents in certain areas) to save money on providing services, justifiable Self Defense is on the rise.
The Police are no doubt embarrassed about response times that are unbelievably long, but the courts have apparently decided to let the citizens take care of themselves.Please notice I said 'citizens', not 'civilians'. I have to be honest and admit that I have come to have a truly low opinion of cops (aka: CIVILIAN Law Enforcement) who think of themselves as the military and refer to us as 'civilians'.
The number of Justifiable Self Defense homicides have gone from 19 in 2010, to 34 in 2011.
There may be some hope for the remaining citizens in what was once a thriving American city that has fallen on hard times akin to something in a bad movie.
http://www.thedaily.com/page/2012/02/05/020512-news-detroit-vigilantes-1-5/
The Police are no doubt embarrassed about response times that are unbelievably long, but the courts have apparently decided to let the citizens take care of themselves.Please notice I said 'citizens', not 'civilians'. I have to be honest and admit that I have come to have a truly low opinion of cops (aka: CIVILIAN Law Enforcement) who think of themselves as the military and refer to us as 'civilians'.
The number of Justifiable Self Defense homicides have gone from 19 in 2010, to 34 in 2011.
There may be some hope for the remaining citizens in what was once a thriving American city that has fallen on hard times akin to something in a bad movie.
http://www.thedaily.com/page/2012/02/05/020512-news-detroit-vigilantes-1-5/
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Political Commentary and Humor..
....Blackthorn Style!! The unfunny thing is, unfortunately, how true these comments are.
My HIT COUNTER Is BACK!!
YAY!!!!! Gone since Hurricane Irene last August, I finally managed to reinstall a Hit Counter. Although I somehow managed to lose over 10,000 hits, I'm not going to complain.
Now if I could just get more of you guys to post, I'd really be happy.
Now if I could just get more of you guys to post, I'd really be happy.
S.O.B. Part 4.1 Carrying In Mexico
So after re-reading the article about PMC's working in old Mexico, I started to wonder. Since only Mexican Nationals are allowed to carry firearms, I wonder if dual citizenship would count?
Consider this; In the Washington post article they talk about how non-mexican security personnel would have to team up with armed locals to provide the "armed muscle" needed for actual ops, as well as for the security specialists own protection.
However, considering the Narcotrafficantes proven track record of co-opting corrupt military and police, would any PMC employee really trust their lives to some locals?
Whereas if dual citizenship would qualify them for government licensed security work, you might see a sudden upswing in applications for the needed paperwork.
Time will tell.
Consider this; In the Washington post article they talk about how non-mexican security personnel would have to team up with armed locals to provide the "armed muscle" needed for actual ops, as well as for the security specialists own protection.
However, considering the Narcotrafficantes proven track record of co-opting corrupt military and police, would any PMC employee really trust their lives to some locals?
Whereas if dual citizenship would qualify them for government licensed security work, you might see a sudden upswing in applications for the needed paperwork.
Time will tell.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
S.O.B. Part 4
With Iraq and Afghanistan winding down, Private Military Contractors here in the US, not to mention returning vets facing the prospect of a draw-down in US armed forces, are looking at Mexico as a prospective source of business.
However operating inside Mexico may present it's own particular problems in that regard.
The link below to the Washington Post article lays it out in detail.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/americas/security-contractors-see-new-opportunities-in-mexico/2012/01/03/gIQAUj3wSQ_story.html
However operating inside Mexico may present it's own particular problems in that regard.
The link below to the Washington Post article lays it out in detail.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/americas/security-contractors-see-new-opportunities-in-mexico/2012/01/03/gIQAUj3wSQ_story.html
Monday, January 16, 2012
Crime Wars ( Cartel PDF)
This link is to a PDF, of a report issued in 2010 by a group called CNAS. Center For a New American Security. They are a Non Governmental Think tank that discusses long term problems, and potential solutions to situations that have or could have an effect on American security. This is not just about potential military threats.
Economic issues, access to resources, alliances, international crime, trafficking in sex, drugs, pirated media, etc.
This report is about the expansion and advancement of the Cartels out of central america. Inroads here in the US, and how ethnic gangs are used to distribute smuggled goods, and the attendant violence, and the potential for destabilization of our economy and governmental services.
I'm just letting you know now, it's over 80 pages long.
http://www.cnas.org/files/documents/publications/CNAS_CrimeWars_KillebrewBernal_3.pdf
Economic issues, access to resources, alliances, international crime, trafficking in sex, drugs, pirated media, etc.
This report is about the expansion and advancement of the Cartels out of central america. Inroads here in the US, and how ethnic gangs are used to distribute smuggled goods, and the attendant violence, and the potential for destabilization of our economy and governmental services.
I'm just letting you know now, it's over 80 pages long.
http://www.cnas.org/files/documents/publications/CNAS_CrimeWars_KillebrewBernal_3.pdf
South Of The Border (S.O.B.) Part 3
Those wonderful Mexican Cartels are at it again. The link (from June 2011) provided below has pictures and info on Do It Yourself armored vehicles. I'm not talking about Limo's or Big SUV's that have some plating added. I'm talking about steel plate several inches thick, and heavy glass viewports to match, mounted on heavy truck frames.
Some trucks are big enough to accommodate up to 20 armed men. One Cartel garage was found with 2 completed vehicles, and enough Ford 350, 3-axle trucks to build 23 more.
Crude without a doubt, but a sobering peek at what the future holds down Mexico way.
http://telstarlogistics.typepad.com/telstarlogistics/2011/06/mexican-drug-cartels-create-diy-armored-vehicles.html
Some trucks are big enough to accommodate up to 20 armed men. One Cartel garage was found with 2 completed vehicles, and enough Ford 350, 3-axle trucks to build 23 more.
Crude without a doubt, but a sobering peek at what the future holds down Mexico way.
http://telstarlogistics.typepad.com/telstarlogistics/2011/06/mexican-drug-cartels-create-diy-armored-vehicles.html
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Observations On The World
"When you're born, you get a free ticket to the Freak Show. If you're born in America, you get a front row seat"
George Carlin
"And if you're born in NYC or LA, you get a backstage pass"
Me
George Carlin
"And if you're born in NYC or LA, you get a backstage pass"
Me
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