Category: A Victory!
But why, I ask? As this has to be one of the most screw balled ideas that I have seen in a while.
Now I have a fair amount of time shooting the 762×39 round, Up in the local national parks of Las Padres Forest when it was legal to do so. Back in the wonderful late 80’s and 90s’ of the last century. When a thousand rounds of heathen Red Chinese ammo could be bought for under a penny a round.
But even back then in those glorious times. I the rookie noticed that this was not the end all for the search for the perfect rifle round. Otherwise the Chinese would not be dumping Billions of rounds of their army on the American gun market.
As it is not really going to knock the 6.5 Credmoor or the 243 Winchester off the throne of super accurate rifle ammo. Nor did I ever even think of taking it hunting. Since basically it is designed really for close range urban warfare, Not Bambi busting.
So all I can say about this classic rifle in an oddball caliber. Is that it either it will wind up as an investment safe queen. Or it will be somebodys plinking toy. I.E. A very bright soul that stocked up a lot of cheap 7.62×39 back in the day. Grumpy
I am so g;ad to be living in a good suburbian town, here in Los Angeles. Where this is not a priblem yet! Grumpy
followed by after Waterloo
(AP)—The U.S. military is cracking down on special operations troops who share knowledge of their secret missions for profit, punishing seven Navy SEALs, including one involved in the mission to get Osama bin Laden, who moonlighted as advisers on a combat video game.
Current and former SEALs, including the author of a tell-all book on the bin Laden raid, complain they’re getting mixed messages from the military, which likes to see itself on big and small screens on its own terms.
The seven SEALs are being reprimanded and having their pay docked for sharing information with the designers of “Medal of Honor: Warfighter,” by video game company EA, according to military officials speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigations publicly.
The men will remain in the SEAL teams, but were punished for working on the video without their command’s permission, revealing classified information by sharing the tactics they use and showing designers some of their specially designed combat equipment unique to their unit, the officials said.
Four more SEALs could face the similar punishment.
The deputy commander of Naval Special Warfare Command, Rear Adm. Garry Bonelli, issued a statement acknowledging that nonjudicial punishments had been handed out for misconduct, but he did not offer any details.
“We do not tolerate deviations from the policies that govern who we are and what we do as sailors in the United States Navy,” Bonelli said. He alluded to the importance of honoring nondisclosure agreements that SEALs sign.
He said the punishments this week “send a clear message throughout our force that we are and will be held to a high standard of accountability.”
The SEALs’ unauthorized work came to light as part of the investigation of the book “No Easy Day,” by former SEAL Matt Bissonnette, with his firsthand account of the raid that killed bin Laden in Pakistan last year. Publisher Penguin’s Dutton Imprint ignored the Pentagon’s warnings that the book contained classified information and published the book just ahead of the 11th anniversary of the Sept. 11th attacks.
The Pentagon would have a hard time proving the video game makers had disseminated classified information that threatened national security because the combat tactics shown in the game are common to games and action movies, said Mark Zaid, a Washington-based national security attorney who regularly handles cases involving secrecy agreements and classified information.
EA spokesman Peter Nguyen said the company has no plans to recall “Medal of Honor: Warfighter,” and there are “no plans to alter the content contributed by combat veterans in the game.” He would not elaborate.
“EA didn’t break any rules,” said Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities, an investment firm that follows video game companies. “It’s not against the law for them to ask questions.”
Video game companies often use military consultants for games in order to make them as realistic as possible.
The Xbox 360 version of the game scored poorly on with just 52 points out of 100 on Metacritic, a gaming website that aggregates reviews, Pachter said.
Pachter expects the latest “Medal of Honor,” which launched on Oct. 23, to sell 3 million copies. The “Call of Duty” games routinely sell more than that in their first day in stores.
The SEALs who were punished for helping with the game were all members of Bissonnette’s old unit, SEAL Team 6. Officials say Bissonnette drafted his friends from his old unit SEAL Team 6 to work on the video game—a common practice among the SEAL teams, where current and former members help trusted teammates to find work.
Current and former special operators troops complain there’s a double standard when it comes to publicizing details of their missions. This year’s movie “Act of Valor” was filmed with the Pentagon’s approval and featured active-duty Navy SEALs, showing off the methods they use on the battlefield. Navy officials say they worked with the filmmakers as a recruiting tool and that unlike the video game, or the Bissonnette raid book, the filmmakers gave them an opportunity to review the film for classified material. They also point out that the SEALs in that movie were unpaid.
“I don’t know if terrorists can just take from a video game tactics … but it does speak to a bigger issue that just, hey, if you’re not authorized to give out information or speak about information, then you have to be held accountable,” said former Navy SEAL Scott Taylor, now with Special Operations OPSEC, a political advocacy group that criticized the Obama administration during the presidential campaign for releasing details of the bin Laden raid.
The head of Naval Special Warfare Command, Rear Adm. Sean Pybus, responded to the Bissonnette book by telling his force that “hawking details about a mission” and selling other information about SEAL training and operations puts the force and their families at risk.
Members of the SEAL community have been embarrassed by the rash of books and films about the elite force, and some SEALs say they fear top secret missions will now be given instead to units whose members keep quiet.
On Thursday, 9/21, local farmer militiamen in South Africa stopped a gang of 15 armed robbers armed with AK-47s who had just robbed an armored car, killing the driver. The local volunteers apprehended the fugitives after a high-speed chase, including a dangerous Mozambican criminal wanted for murder of a police officer.
The robbery took place in Hoedspruit (Hat Springs) outside Polokwane in Limpopo Province, which were named Pietersburg and North Transvaal by the original settlers before the campaign to ethnically cleanse the Afrikaner language and culture from South Africa.
Heavily armed attacks on armored cars are so common in South Africa they are known as Cash-in-Transit heists (CIT).
“15 robbers armed with automatic rifles carried out a CIT heist in Hoedspruit, killing the Fidelity driver,“ reports YouTuber Willem Petzer.
Hero farmers from Hoedspruit kills 4 CIT robbers and wounds 3 after police flee the scene.
Full story:
Today, 22/09/2023, 15 robbers armed with automatic rifles carried out a CIT heist in Hoedspruit, killing the driver Fidelity driver. Police fled the scene when the robbers… pic.twitter.com/QtHq8KsaYp
— Willem Petzer (@willempet) September 22, 2023
According to police spokesman Colonel Matimba Maluleke, the suspects shot at the escort vehicle before disarming the guards (a driver and crew) of their official rifle and pistol. “Unfortunately the two guards were shot at and sustained injuries that resulted in the death of the driver. The suspects then pursued the armoured vehicle while shooting at it until it stopped.
The driver of the armoured vehicle and his crew were allegedly ordered to disembark the vehicle, disarmed of two firearms and chased into the nearby bushes. The suspects used explosives to blast the vehicle and made off with an undisclosed amount of money,” Maluleke said.
“A community crime watch group, Hoedspruit Farmwatch, was alerted to the incident and went in pursuit of the robbers, putting obstacles on the road to prevent their escape. A shootout ensued,” Petzer writes.
It is further reported that the suspects started shooting at members of Hoedspruit Farmwatch who in self-defence returned fire. During the shootout, four suspects were killed and one (28) was injured and arrested on the spot. The other suspects ran into the nearby bushes and…
— Ian Cameron (@IanCameron23) September 23, 2023
“The Hoedspruit Farmwatch volunteers blocked the roads outside of Hoedspruit with boulders after they were alerted of the attack. A skirmish, lasting about 20 minutes, ensued at one of the blockades between the robbers and the farmers, who were armed with pistols. The farmers managed to kill 4 of the robbers and wound 3. No farmer was hurt. The other suspects fled into nearby bushes after the shootout on foot.”
“The Hoedspruit farmwatch tracked them down using their dogs and arrested the rest of them, recovering all the money from the heist. Great job by the farmers!” Petzer writes.
Hoedspruit Farmwatch denied that South African Police Service officers had fled the scene.
MESSAGE ON BEHALF OF HOEDSPRUIT FARMWATCH
Hoedspruit Farmwatch would like to thank everyone for the positive response and support being received so far. We are very proud to serve the community of Hoedspruit and our immediate surrounds and it is an honour to be part of such a…— Ian Cameron (@IanCameron23) September 23, 2023
Police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba said the community protection team “returned fire and when the dust settled, four suspects were fatally shot, one injured and arrested while others managed to evade arrest by running into nearby bushes,” The Citizen reports.
The fleeing duo was “arrested while travelling to Acornhoek in a taxi following an intense search mission by the Hoedspruit Farmwatch, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation and a chopper,” Ledwaba stated.
“One of the arrested suspects is a highly wanted Mozambican suspect who has been on the run for some time for a spate of crimes he committed in the Free State in 2022 including the murder of a police officer. The injured suspects were found in possession of suspected stolen money, a rifle and a pistol,” the police spokesman said.
Several community safety organizations met Sept. 19 in Centurion to join forces to to curb farm attacks and rural crime, including AfriForum, Southern African Agri Initiative (SAAI), Transvaal Agricultual Union TLU SA, AgriSA, Forum Sekuriteit, Sakeliga, the South African Special Forces Association (SASFA) and the Association for South African Military veterans, AfriForum reported.
“AfriForum is excited about the fact that all these organisations are willing to join hands and make a difference against the wave of farm attacks and increasing rural crime. The SAPS itself has already admitted that it cannot fulfil its mandate, and this is obvious when one looks at the chaotic state of crime in the country. It is now time for communities to safeguard themselves,” said Jacques Broodryk, AfriForum’s spokesperson for Community Safety.
According to Dr. Theo de Jager, executive director of SAAI, the different organizations, civil structures and agricultural unions have feet on the ground when it comes to rural security: “Some organisations have farm watches in remote areas or camera systems, radio networks, emergency centres or response units. Others post guards, patrol national roads or establish and manage private fire services. Ultimately, everyone is in the same industry and has one goal in mind – to secure communities where the government can no longer do it,” said De Jager.
AfriForum’s Security Head Jacques Broodryk on Farm Murders:
Federal District Judge Roger T. Benitez has once again knocked down California’s magazine ban, concluding that the law is unconstitutional, but the judge stayed his decision for ten days to give the state a chance to appeal his decision. The judge wrote:
“Defendant Attorney General Rob Bonta, and his officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys, and those persons in active concert or participation with him, and those duly sworn state peace officers and federal law enforcement officers who gain knowledge of this injunction order, or know of the existence of this injunction order, are enjoined from enforcing California Penal Code § 32310.”
Duncan v. Bonta centered on California’s ban on standard capacity magazines, often defined as those capable of holding more than ten rounds of ammunition.
Enacted in 2016 as part of Proposition 63, this law sought to criminalize the mere possession of such magazines, even for law-abiding gun owners who had legally acquired them before the ban came into effect. Plaintiffs argued that this ban amounted to an unconstitutional infringement on their Second Amendment rights.
In 2019, when the case then known as Duncan v. Becerra, Judge Benitez issued a summary judgment for the plaintiffs, temporarily blocking the enforcement of California’s ban on standard-capacity magazines. Judge Benitez’s ruling was rooted in the belief that this ban violated the Second Amendment and deprived Californians of their right to self-defense. He noted that millions of responsible gun owners in California had used these magazines for lawful purposes, particularly for self-defense.
After the ruling, it set off what Californians called “Freedom Week,” where citizens of the Golden State rushed to the internet to buy standard capacity magazines.
The state would ask and receive a stay on the judge’s decisions. The Californians could keep the magazines they purchased during this time period. Because of the ten-day stay, there will not be a repeat of the Freedom Week for the time being.
The case would make it to the Supreme Court of The United States (SCOTUS) before being remanded to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals after the Bruen decision. The Ninth Circuit would then remand it back to Judge Benitez. Many saw this as the Ninth trying to delay the inevitable decision for the plaintiffs.
Judge Benitez’s new decision shared most of the same arguments as his original decision. He called the magazine limitation arbitrary because each state regulates the number of allowed rounds differently, with most having no restrictions.
“The fact that there are so many different numerical limits demonstrates the arbitrary nature of magazine capacity limits,” the judge wrote.
Judge Benitez also took issue with the state’s argument that having more than ten rounds is unnecessary for self-defense. He took the pro-gun stance that even though you might not need more than ten rounds in most situations to defend yourself, it is better to have it when you need it than to play the odds and take a chance.
“There have been, and there will be, times where many more than 10 rounds are needed to stop attackers,” Judge Benitez wrote. “…Woe to the victim who runs out of ammunition before armed attackers do. The police will mark the ground with chalk, count the number of shell casings, and file the report.”
The state has already issued a notice of appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals but faces an uphill battle now that it cannot use interest balancing. Better known as intermediate scrutiny, interest balancing balances the state’s wants against the people’s rights. The Bruen decision rejected the legal theory, stating that any law must be consistent with the Second Amendment’s text, history, and tradition.
If the Ninth Circuit doesn’t extend the stay, it will block the law after ten days, allowing Californians to acquire standard capacity magazines. However, people expect the Circuit Court to extend the stay until it can rule on the decision.
Decision. Signed by Judge Roger T. Benitez on 9/22/2023 by AmmoLand Shooting Sports News on Scribd
NOTICE OF APPEAL to the 9th Circuit as to 149 Order by Xavier Becerra. by AmmoLand Shooting Sports News on Scribd
About John Crump
John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist; he has written about firearms and interviewed people of all walks of life.