Oops

Under dim lights in a grand hall of the great Folger Shakespeare Library lies the “Wicked Bible,” called so because it omits one distinctly important word from the Seventh Commandment. It is a word with the power to prevent sin.

“Thou shalt commit adultery,” the Wicked Bible commands.

Read the rest at TYWKIWDBI

Gun walking, Obama vs Bush

Operation "Fast and furious" is quickly becoming Obama's "Watergate". In a desperate attempt to conduct damage control, the Whitehouse dragged up some dirt from the Bush era. this dirt is "Operation Wide Receiver" which was a plan to track firearms sold legally but falling in cartel hands. The plan involved guns  fitted with a RFID chips and tracking aircraft were equipped to pick up the signals. The plan was ok, but failed on the details, the RFID chips were not properly installed and the battery life was to short. The bad guys also found out the schedule for the aircraft and were able to to cross the border when the aircraft had to refuel. the intent of the operation was to roll up the network and retrieve the guns before they could disappear. The intent was good, but the execution was sloppy. Some more information can be found in this article by The outdoor wire. Approx 450 guns slipped into Mexico, at which point the operation was shut down.
In contrast "Operation Fast and Furious" ran at least 2000 weapons to the cartels, with no ability or intent to track them, when strawman could not come up with the money, agents gave them taxdollars to buy guns, dealers were ordered to sell the guns illegally to the strawman. the guns quickly disappeared only to resurface in Mexico and the US in crime scenes. It seems around 3 people in the US and possible 200 people in Mexico have been killed by these guns. There are rumours that up to 9 other operations like Fast & Furious have been conducted under Obama's watch, if each of those were similar in size and scope it could mean that Obama's administration has purposely given the cartels close to 20,000 firearms, using taxpayers money.
Meanwhile Obama's people are not being terribly honest when questioned. Seems even supporters of the Obama administration are worried and upset about this.

Keen observers will note I have linked several times to Pajama's Media. This is true mainly as they have done a significant job of tracking this scandal, while the MSM were busy examining their fingernails and hoping to avoid having to bring it up.

Father daughter moment

Took my daughter shooting at the range this Saturday, she really did well! She was responsible and safe. She also hit the target 9 out of 10 times, very impressive for the 2nd time shooting. She was using a modified Ruger 10/22 with a short stock. After watching her shoot I have to make her a special rest, all of the ones there are to high. Also need to shorten the length of pull on the stock and smooth out the trigger so it's easier for her.

It's important when you are teaching kids to shoot, that you set them up for success, don't start them on a large calibre rifle with a target a 100 metres away! From the picture below you can see I set up a series of targets at 25 metres, making it easier for her to hit the target. In the beginning the focus needs to be on safety and learning how to hold the gun. Next time I will work a bit on trigger pull and breathing. Kids can only take in so much at a time, keep your learning plan for them simple and achievable. My daughter had a great time and didn't want to stop. I could see though that her attention was beginning to wander and her arms getting tired. After shooting I took her to Tim Horton's for a donut, which she also enjoyed of course! It was a great father- daughter day and daddy is very proud of his baby girl. Another lady at the range came up to me and said: "Watching you with her, reminds me of my dad teaching me to shoot. Lots of great memories"

13 can be a lucky number!

The 13th C-130J is delivered to the RCAF, this is the last one for this year, the final 4 arrive in 2012, for a total of 17. Photo courtesy of "Defense Watch"

Just remember the Liberals and NDP say "sole sourcing" is bad because you will end up with stuff like C-130J, Leopard 2's, C-17's and Chinook helicopters. All of which will make the Canadian military more effective and therefore we may be called upon to do more as the US scales back.

To be fair to the critics I think the F-35 is a plane to far and we should take a hard look at what we need in a fighter. My concern is that we are buying far to few airframe and throwing all our eggs in one untried basket. I would be far more comfortable with a mixed fleet of 80 or so fighter aircraft made up of Super Hornets and perhaps the F-35.

Afghanistan, Helmet Cam

Some serious and little not so serious footage from Afghanistan. There is some soldier language, so mind the volume around kids and the office.

Unintended results

Somehow I don't think this was the intent of the architect.

Saffron or opium?

I have been following this for awhile, saffron is a viable alternative because it competes with the profit margin of opium, it's also labour intensive and does not require a large robust transportation system. According to one source I know, most of the top quality Saffron comes from Spain, the rest is a blend of different crops. I certainly hope this works out for the Afghans.

Farmers’ fields outside the western Afghanistan city of Herat are about to blossom into a purple form of gold.
Once rife with poppy, the lucrative spring crop used to produce heroin, these plots are now seeded with saffron flowers. They yield the burnt orange granules that trade as the most expensive spice in the world. At its highest quality, saffron sells for between $2,000 and $4,000 per kilogram in global markets, enticing farmers to switch their allegiance from opium, which sells as little as a tenth as much.

read the rest at "Globe and mail"

Coming out of the gun closet part III

Not your average collection...

Ways to buy a gun

In part 2, I talked about buying a gun from the store, which is a great way to see how a gun fits you. The other way is to go to the range and ask people to let you hold their guns (If done politely chances are that many will let you shoot it as well). It’s important to realize that any gun you buy fits you. It doe not matter how good the reviews are, or which police/army/big game guide uses which gun, what really matters is how it fits your hand and body shape. Almost every modern handgun and long gun are excellent guns and you are really choosing on fit and details like “ambi-safety”, decockers, left hand/right hand, etc.

 How not to buy a gun

• When purchasing your first gun, avoid anything with the word magnum, Casull or Lapu in it, these guns are expensive to feed and requires good technique to hit the target repeatable.
• Not everything a gun store clerk tells you is true! Chances are that the gun he is telling you will never be available again, will be on the shelves next month.
•  Don’t be talked into buying a particular gun, because someone claimed that anything less is placing your life and your family in danger.
• Do not buy a gun based on what you saw in a movie and please don’t base your firearms handling on them either!!

Suggestions for a first gun
It really depends on your budget which gun(s) to buy first. If you have lots of money then your options are much wider than what I am suggesting. Keep in mind the gun is just the beginning of the shooting hobby, you will need carrying case, trigger locks, gun cabinet/safe, lots and lots of ammunition, gun club membership, possibly optics, safety glasses, ear protection and of course a cleaning kit. Ammunition is by far the most expensive ongoing cost of shooting which why serious shooters reload their own (covered in a later post).

My Dlask 10/22

.22cal rimfire

Your first gun should be a .22cal, this will allow you to practice and learn at very reasonable costs and they are just plain fun. For a rifle I recommend the Ruger 10/22. This rifle is very common, has a huge amount of aftermarket parts and modifications. For a pistol it gets a bit harder. There are several routes to go. First is the dedicated .22cal target pistol like the Buckmark. These are accurate and reliable, but all of this type of firearm are finicky to take apart.

The other option is a centrefire pistol with a .22calconversion kit. You can get aftermarket kits for the Glock and CZ line. Sig offers their classic .22 models which is a fullsize frame fitted with a .22cal slide and magazine. You buy the 9mm/.40cal slide and mags later.

If you love the 1911 model, there are dedicated guns made by GSG that are in .22cal.

Sig 226 with conversion kit on and 9mm slide below it

Centrefire choices

 If your first gun must be a centrefire I recommend rifles in .223Remington or 7.62x39. The Warsaw Pact guns like the SKS are the cheapest centrefire to shoot and lots of fun. Just keep in mind that most 7.62x39 ammo is corrosive and you must clean the gun as soon as you get back!

Norinco SKS with Tapco stock

Rifles in .223 offer very good accuracy with little recoil for a reasonable cost. You can get this calibre in either a bolt action or semi-auto, keep in mind most of the semi-autos in this calibre are restricted and can only be used at the range.

Norinco CAR

For a centrefire pistol I recommend 9mm to start, my preference is the SW M&P, but the Glock 17, CZ models, Ruger SR-9 and the Sig 226 are all fine choices. In fact you really can’t go wrong on any modern pistol. I like the 1911 models as well, very accurate guns, but most are in .45acp which is not cheap to shoot. Also being single action they require excellent muzzle control and trigger finger discipline.

SW M&P with weapons light and Blackhawk Serpa holster

Where to buy?

 So you have figured out what you want and how much to spend (your spouse may have different ideas here!) but none of the local stores have what you want! Relax there is another couple of ways which I will explain;

Exchange Forums

Many popular gun forums such as Canadiangunnutz, Canadiangunslingers and HuntingBC have exchange forums where you can buy and sell guns, gun parts and shooting/hunting related stuff. While the forum cannot guarantee that everyone is perfectly honest and will not refund you any lost money, what they have done is to create a “Trader rating”. This means that buyers and sellers can rate people on the transaction and this will give you an indication on how much to trust someone. As you buy and sell on the forum you too will get a trader rating.

Retail outlets websites

Most successful gun stores operate websites that allow you to buy guns and gun stuff online. This is a great way to comparison shop and to get the best price. Keep in mind shipping costs and taxes when calculating the final price. Here are few; Reliable, Epps, Candaammo, Questar, Marstar

US gun online stores

When you surf the web you will find great deals in the US, however many items including parts for AR-15 type rifles, scopes, and other certain parts are barred from export under the ITAR rules. Basically if it’s used by a modern military it’s likely to be blocked from export. Parts for rimfires and hunting rifles are likely cleared for export, however keep in mind shipping, duty and taxes payable upon crossing the border.

Ebay

While Ebay does sell some gun parts, Ebay is anti-firearm and won’t allow the selling of guns. When you do order from the US Ebay keep in mind many sellers won’t ship across the border. It is a good place to get odd bits like grips, holsters and such. Paypal is very anti-firearm and will give you grief if they find out the item is gun related.

Craigslist

 While an excellent place to sell baby clothes and such, I would very much discourage you from selling gun stuff on Craigslist. There are too many non-nice people that cruise there. If you must sell there, do not let people come to your door, offer to meet them somewhere public, this can be awkward with a firearm and hence one of the reasons I don’t support it for firearm related stuff.

Gun shows

I find gun shows a great place to buy gun related stuff, but find the guns often overpriced, do your homework before shopping at a gun show.

The CFC and buying guns online

There some legal steps to go through to buy a gun online. Once you contact the seller and make the agreement to buy, you must give the seller your name, address and PAL number. The seller will contact the CFC and initiate the transfer. The CFC will give the seller a transfer number and then contact you. You then call the CFC to confirm the transfer giving them the number.

 Update
There is no requirement to call the CFC for a Non-restricted firearm, you can call the CFC to confirm the PAL number of the buyer, but people report the CFC asking for more information than required. It is your responsibility to ensure that the buyer has a PAL. Easy to do person to person, but harder online. some ask for a scan. be careful here as when someone gets a scan of your PAL, they can use that to buy guns as well. If you do send a scan, perhaps watermark it with a date saying from then to then.

Mailing a gun

Guns can be mailed in Canada using the most secure mail available which requires a signature at the door. The CFC gets around the Firearms Act by claiming the gun is not really a gun when in the mail system (sigh), but it’s not in our interest to rock the boat here, but shows you how bad the Firearms Act is written.

In Part IV of the series I will deal with joining a gun club, cleaning a gun among other things.

Part I

PartII

Missing Malaysian food already!

To be more accurate I am missing Indian Malaysian food, most Malay dishes contain "Stinky fish" a small dried anchovy which my wife loves but I will take a pass on. My love is reserved for the Naan's, roti's and dosai dishes along with Tandoori chicken. Throughout Malaysia you will find a type of restaurant that caters to the Indian style, these places are half indoor and half outdoor, inside are several stalls each dealing with one type of food and one for beverages. The one pictured below was nearby and quickly became my favorite. You will be greeted with a smile and a "Hey Boss!" The guys that work here are likely half illegals and some landed immigrants, mostly from southern India and Bangladesh. These guys work hard for little money, they will not accept tips. This restaurant is located in Precinct 15 of Putra Jaya.

Here is the Dosai cook at work, dosai are somewhat crisp on the outside with a soft centre, a little like a crepe.

The end result, served with curry and a coconut paste. In the centre of the table is the Tandoori chicken, sheesh I am getting hungry just posting this!!

The meal above was 4 naan, 2 dosai, 2 roti and 2 Tandoori chickens. along with 2 Iced nescafes and 2 iced milo's the cost came to 28RM or about $9.00 Canadian!! compared to Canada, it would not take long to pay for your plane ticket just by eating out.

I should mention that I have seen the name of the bread spelt 3 ways; "Dosa, Dosai and Tosai" I am not sure which is right or perhaps they are all right, just different spelling for the same thing.

For whom the bell tolls, it tolls for you Malaysia

Anyone crazy enough to drive in Malaysia will quickly notice that the highways have a significant number of toll booths on them. While the costs per booth are not high, it's not uncommon to go through 6 or 7 on one drive, some seem to be no more than 4km apart. It's quite annoying and quite the make work project for a large number of ethnic Malays. Some tolls are based on distance, you get a toll ticket at the entrance to a highway and they calculate how much you owe when you get off.
The money is supposed to go to new highways and to maintain the existing ones, however this being Malaysia, one is never really certain where which pot of money goes where.  A well known Malaysian cartoonist drew a great cartoon showing the government throwing up an inflatable toll booth, to the dismay of approaching drivers.