And literally on the other side of the world.

Maori Party fears over new gun laws

There are fears that proposed new gun laws aiming to curb gang violence will affect Māori with only loose connections to gangs.

Offences that could lead to a firearms prohibition order included participating in an organised crime group or gang, and serious firearms or violence offences.

The Green Party welcomed the legislation in general but warns police may seek bans for people that they simply consider gang associates.

Police Minister Poto Williams says she hadn’t received advice on what a firearms prohibition order would specifically mean for Māori.

“We haven’t had specific information with that regard. But what we’re dealing with are the most serious offenders … who would do us harm,” Williams says.

But a public consultation document says Māori would likely be over-represented in those subjected to firearms prohibition orders.

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Some state lawmakers want a say in U.S. Constitution
The ‘convention of states’ bill backed by the GOP aims to give states the power to propose constitutional amendments.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — At the State House, Republican lawmakers are hoping South Carolina will join the list of states signing up to be part of the convention of states.

The U.S. Constitution allows constitutional amendments to be proposed by Congress, which is what typically happens, or by a convention of states. For the convention of states to propose changes to the Constitution, 34 states must pass a law saying they will be part of the group.

A bill to join the convention has just passed in the South Carolina House.

GUN HISTORIAN ASHLEY HLEBINSKY DROPS TRUTH BOMBS IN ‘GHOST GUN’ HEARING

Senate Sub Committee Hearing video on C-SPAN

If U.S. senators were hoping to give a lift to the Department of Justice’s proposed rule to redefine a firearm, they underestimated Ashley Hlebinsky.

She’s a historical powerhouse when it comes to guns. Hlebinsky testified before the Senate Judiciary’s Subcommittee on The Constitution, in a hearing titled: Stop Gun Violence: Ghost Guns. Hlebinsky started by shredding any pretenses of false authority by those using loaded terms and ended her opening statement reminding senators whom they represent.

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Open Letter from Retired Generals and Admirals

Our Nation is in deep peril. We are in a fight for our survival as a Constitutional Republic like no other time since our founding in 1776. The conflict is between supporters of Socialism and Marxism vs. supporters of Constitutional freedom and liberty.

During the 2020 election an “Open Letter from Senior Military Leaders” was signed by 317 retired Generals and Admirals and, it said the 2020 election could be the most important election since our country was founded. “With the Democrat Party welcoming Socialists and Marxists, our historic way of life is at stake.” Unfortunately, that statement’s truth was quickly revealed, beginning with the election process itself.

Without fair and honest elections that accurately reflect the “will of the people” our Constitutional Republic is lost. Election integrity demands insuring there is one legal vote cast and counted per citizen. Legal votes are identified by State Legislature’s approved controls using government IDs, verified signatures, etc. Today, many are calling such commonsense controls “racist” in an attempt to avoid having fair and honest elections. Using racial terms to suppress proof of eligibility is itself a tyrannical intimidation tactic. Additionally, the “Rule of Law” must be enforced in our election processes to ensure integrity. The FBI and Supreme Court must act swiftly when election irregularities are surfaced and not ignore them as was done in 2020. Finally, H.R.1 & S.1, (if passed), would destroy election fairness and allow Democrats to forever remain in power violating our Constitution and ending our Representative Republic.

Aside from the election, the Current Administration has launched a full-blown assault on our Constitutional rights in a dictatorial manner, bypassing the Congress, with more than 50 Executive Orders quickly signed, many reversing the previous Administration’s effective policies and regulations. Moreover, population control actions such as excessive lockdowns, school and business closures, and most alarming, censorship of written and verbal expression are all direct assaults on our fundamental Rights.

We must support and hold accountable politicians who will act to counter Socialism, Marxism and Progressivism, support our Constitutional Republic, and insist on fiscally responsible governing while focusing on all Americans, especially the middle class, not special interest or extremist groups which are used to divide us into warring factions.
Additional National Security Issues and Actions:

• Open borders jeopardize national security by increasing human trafficking, drug cartels, terrorists entry, health/CV19 dangers, and humanitarian crises. Illegals are flooding our Country bringing high economic costs, crime, lowering wages, and illegal voting in some states. We must reestablish border controls and continue building the wall while supporting our dedicated border control personnel. Sovereign nations must have controlled borders.

• China is the greatest external threat to America. Establishing cooperative relations with the Chinese Communist Party emboldens them to continue progress toward world domination, militarily, economically, politically and technologically. We must impose more sanctions and restrictions to impede their world domination goal and protect America’s interests.

• The free flow of information is critical to the security of our Republic, as illustrated by freedom of speech and the press being in the 1st Amendment of our Constitution. Censoring speech and expression, distorting speech, spreading disinformation by government officials, private entities, and the media is a method to suppress the free flow of information, a tyrannical technique used in closed societies. We must counter this on all fronts beginning with removing Section 230 protection from big tech.

• Re-engaging in the flawed Iran Nuclear Deal would result in Iran acquiring nuclear weapons along with the means to deliver them, thereby upsetting Mideast peace initiatives and aiding a terrorist nation whose slogans and goals include “death to America” and “death to Israel” . We must resist the new China/Iran agreement and not support the Iran Nuclear Deal. In addition, continue with the Mideast peace initiatives, the “Abraham Accords,” and support for Israel.

• Stopping the Keystone Pipeline eliminates our recently established energy independence and causes us to be energy dependent on nations not friendly to us, while eliminating valuable US jobs. We must open the Keystone Pipeline and regain our energy independence for national security and economic reasons.

• Using the U.S. military as political pawns with thousands of troops deployed around the U.S. Capitol Building, patrolling fences guarding against a non-existent threat, along with forcing Politically Correct policies like the divisive critical race theory into the military at the expense of the War Fighting Mission, seriously degrades readiness to fight and win our Nation’s wars, creating a major national security issue. We must support our Military and Vets; focus on war fighting, eliminate the corrosive infusion of Political Correctness into our military which damages morale and war fighting cohesion.

• The “Rule of Law” is fundamental to our Republic and security. Anarchy as seen in certain cities cannot be tolerated. We must support our law enforcement personnel and insist that DAs, our courts, and the DOJ enforce the law equally, fairly, and consistently toward all.

• The mental and physical condition of the Commander in Chief cannot be ignored. He must be able to quickly make accurate national security decisions involving life and limb anywhere, day or night. Recent Democrat leadership’s inquiries about nuclear code procedures sends a dangerous national security signal to nuclear armed adversaries, raising the question about who is in charge. We must always have an unquestionable chain of command.

Under a Democrat Congress and the Current Administration, our Country has taken a hard left turn toward Socialism and a Marxist form of tyrannical government which must be countered now by electing congressional and presidential candidates who will always act to defend our Constitutional Republic. The survival of our Nation and its cherished freedoms, liberty, and historic values are at stake.
We urge all citizens to get involved now at the local, state and/or national level to elect political representatives who will act to Save America, our Constitutional Republic, and hold those currently in office accountable. The “will of the people” must be heard and followed.

Signed by: (names follow)

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Comment O’ The Day.

“Someone should create a similar checklist but labeled “Self-assessment: How dysfunctional is your life?” Questions could include the number of grades in school completed, the number of arrests/convictions, drug addictions, the last time they read a book, and the presence (or not) of their biological father in their home as a child.”

‘Could be’? I’d say it’s getting hammered right now.

Constitutional Carry: How Joe Biden’s War On Guns Could Be Crushed

Earlier this month legislation passed the Texas State Senate, which could allow residents to carry a handgun without a permit. Known as “unrestricted,” “permitless carry” or “Constitutional Carry,” it reflects the view that the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution does not abide by restrictions on gun rights, including the right to carry or otherwise bear arms.

The Republican-led effort has already passed the Texas House.

“This bill should be called common-sense carry,” said Texas State Rep. Matt Schaefer (R-District 6) when he introduced House Bill 1927 in the Lone Star State last month. The bill would remove the requirement for Texas residents to obtain a license to carry handguns, provided they’re not prohibited by state or federal law from possessing a firearm. Under current law, residents of Texas must generally be licensed to carry handguns, either openly or concealed.

History of Constitutional Carry

As Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has already said he would sign the bill into law, Texas will likely become the fourth state to enable the carry laws this year, as Utah’s new law just came into effect in early May, while Montana’s will go into effect on June 1, followed by Iowa and Tennessee on July 1. Three other states – Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Kentucky – did away with all carry permit requirements in 2019.

Currently, twenty other states have some form of Constitutional Carry laws, and each state has set its own age limits and some restrictions. In some cases it is also only open to residents, and in others is only for concealed carry of handguns.

Originally the concept of being able to carry a handgun with a permit was known as “Vermont carry,” as the state never restricted the carry of firearms by any adult. It was ruled by the Vermont State Supreme Court that the state’s constitution didn’t allow for any restrictions to be placed on residents, including a licensing scheme. As a result, Vermont has been described as being a Constitutional Carry state since even before the United States existed.

Wyoming became the first state to enact or re-introduce similar laws.

Is it Safe?

A common concern by opponents of such laws is whether it is unsafe, as it might encourage untrained or otherwise unqualified individuals to carry a handgun. However, supporters of Constitutional Carry note that concealed carry laws have never stopped criminals from simply illegally carrying a firearm while the permit process could keep law-abiding citizens from being able to carry a weapon for self-defense.

Supporters of permitless carry maintain that many individuals in Constitutional Carry states are still undergoing training with certified instructors. Likewise, a common complaint is the high costs of permits, which greatly impact those in the lower-income brackets – not to mention the additional time to take the classes to receive a permit.

No state allows those under eighteen years of age to carry a firearm, while half require that the individual be at least twenty-one years old.

“I’ll take Dismal Failures for $500. Alex”

Have U.S. Gun Buyback Programs Misfired?

 “Gun buyback programs (GBPs), which use public funds to purchase civilians’ privately-owned firearms, aim to reduce gun violence. However, little is known about their effects on firearm-related crime or deaths. Using data from the National Incident Based Reporting System, we find no evidence that GBPs reduce gun crime. Given our estimated null findings, with 95 percent confidence, we can rule out decreases in firearm-related crime of greater than 1.3 percent during the year following a buyback.”

PDF of the paper

extract:

Moreover, during the first two months following the gun buyback, we find that a GBP is associated with an increase in incidents of firearm-related crime.

The 7.7 percent increase in gun crime we detect in column (4) is relatively modest, suggesting at most, two additional gun crimes.

Again, the findings in the pre-treatment period are consistent with the common trends assumption. In the post-treatment period, we find a small increase in gun crime over the first year following a GBP, followed by longer-run null results.

Across the three specifications presented in Table 4, we show that GBPs are associated with a 6.9 percent increase in gun as compared to non-gun crime in the two months following a gun buyback.

In the posttreatment period, we find no evidence that GBPs reduce gun crime (panel a) or non-gun crime (panel b) in the 24 months following its enactment. 26 We find a small, short-run (month of enactment) increase in gun relative to non-gun crime.

In addition, firearms sold in buybacks do not appear to be those that would typically be used to commit gun crime. Approximately 25 percent of GBP participants reported that the firearms they sold were not in good working order (Romero et al. 1998). A study of a series of gun buybacks in Milwaukee, Wisconsin between 1994 and 1997 found that the types of firearms turned in were more likely to be older weapons with longer barrels and smaller magazine size(Kuhn et al. 2002). Such weapon traits are not commonly linked to firearm-related homicides and suicides (Planty and Truman 2013).

These findings are consistent with adverse selection in firearm quality that one would expect to observe with a relatively low offer price and no price discrimination.

Moreover, income gains to GBP participants selling low quality firearms could result in an increase the supply of properly functioning guns.

 

The 3 Golden Rules of Defensive Carry

What’s the best defensive handgun? There’s no easy answer to this question, but if you had to shoot to save your life while being attacked, you’d probably like to have the biggest handgun you could find. I know I would. Of course, there are some problems with big and powerful handguns for defensive carry: They’re hard to carry and hard to conceal, and they recoil with enough force to twist your own wrists into submission. There’s a reason nearly every .44 Magnum revolver that’s for sale on the used market comes with half a box of ammunition.

Robert Ruark made the “use enough gun” phrase famous. In fact, it was the title of one of his books, published in 1965 after his death. Ruark’s reference to enough gun was about hunting dangerous game, and he did a good bit of it. He shot lots of buffalo, several elephants, two lions, and multiple tigers. He was even mauled by an Asian leopard. So Ruark had some experience to back up his advice, advice which has since been applied to hunting all sorts of big game and even to defensive carry.

Rule No. 1: Defensive Carry Means Having a Gun

When it comes to the self-defense handgun, the question naturally follows: What is enough gun? Can you have too much gun? Handguns effectively stop attacks in several ways. The first and most common is just their mere presence. Countless assaults are thwarted every year just because the good guy had a gun. Will it work for you? Maybe. There’s no way to know.

Another way handguns save lives is when they’re used to shoot the bad guy. This can result in a superficial wound so painful or terrifying to the attacker that they change their mind about doing bad things. A wound from a handgun can also cause voluntary collapse due to the attacker realizing they’re shot and succumbing to the fear of what the wound might ultimately cause. And then there’s involuntary collapse. This occurs about from a wound that breaks support structure, induces unconsciousness, and on rare occasions, causes near-instant death. In almost every case where the attacker is wounded, shot placement plays a huge role in the outcome. Maybe Ruark’s advice should have been “Hit ’em in the right spot.”

Rule No. 2: Nothing Is Certain

The problem with shot placement is that little is guaranteed. While being assaulted and fearing for your life, it’s extremely difficult to shoot with assured accuracy. To compound the problem, unless the bullet strikes and sufficiently damages the central nervous system, the reaction to getting shot is mostly a dice roll. The mental state of the attacker and whether they’re under the influence of any substances also plays a role in the outcome.

The armed civilian must make a choice regarding the gun they will carry. Without question, a .44 Magnum, or some similar very powerful large-bore handgun, can inflict a very nasty and painful wound, even in a location that does not have a high potential of lethality or inducing collapse. On the other hand, as we mentioned, handguns in this power range are extremely unwieldy, difficult to conceal, and difficult to control during recoil.

Rule No. 3: Carry Whenever Possible

After having a gun, the next requirement for defensive carry is having a gun that’s compact and light enough you’ll actually have it with you all the time, because none of us know when a deadly assault might occur. Beyond that, the handgun needs to be compatible with your abilities. In other words, you need to be able to manage the handgun during recoil and quickly shoot it with a competent level of precision.

What cartridge should it be chambered for? We never really know what enough gun will be. Bad guys have been stopped with .22s and have also continued to fight after being center-punched with a .357 Magnum. The most powerful cartridge that will allow you to still do all those things well is the correct answer. Anything beyond that is too much gun. Worry about having a gun and being able to use it effectively before you worry about what kind of gun will be enough.

Using a gun for hunting is entirely different than carrying a handgun for self-defense. When hunting, you control the outcome and only shoot when the situation is right, and then only because you want to. With self-defense, you have no control of when, where, and how the event will unravel. All you can do is react with what you have with you. If you have too much gun, you might have left it at home or you might shoot it poorly.

Idaho Gov. Signs Bill Barring Enforcement of Biden’s Executive Gun Control

Idaho Gov. Brad Little (R) signed legislation Monday to prohibit enforcement of the executive actions for gun control put forth by President Joe Biden.

One outworking of those executive actions has been the Department of Justice’s attempt to reclassify certain gun parts kits as “firearms.”

The executive actions are also expected to lead to DOJ action against AR-pistols with stabilizer braces.

But KTVB reports that the bill signed by Gov. Little “[prohibits] Idaho government entities from upholding Biden’s March executive actions.”

The Associated Press notes the bill passed the House and Senate with veto-proof majorities and “carried an emergency notice, meaning it went into effect with Little’s signature.”

The new law is retroactive to January 20, 2021. It is designed to prevent “Idaho government entities from enforcing executive orders, federal laws, treaties, agency orders and rules of the U.S. government involving firearms, firearm components, firearm accessories or ammunition that conflict with the Idaho Constitution.”

Arizona Governor Signs Law Designating Gun Stores As Essential Firms

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) has signed into law legislation that designates gun stores as essential businesses allowed to remain open during an emergency—a move that will further protect gun stores, manufacturers, and trade associations from lawsuits.

The new law, Senate Bill 1382, introduced by Republican Sen. Wendy Rogers, applies to any store selling guns or ammunition, or their components, and mirrors federal law that was passed on a bipartisan basis.

Ducey’s office said in a release that the measure will protect the Second Amendment rights of Arizonans by “safeguarding against frivolous lawsuits that have no connection to unlawful use of firearms.”

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Man dies after alleged burglary in Frankfort

FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — One man has died after being shot after allegedly breaking into a home in Frankfort on Tuesday.

According to Frankfort police, dispatch responded to a burglary in progress at 358 Wallace Avenue at around 9:35 a.m. The caller mentioned that he shot the alleged intruder, later identified as 35-year-old Stephen Smallwood.

Smallwood was taken to Frankfort Regional Medical Center before being transferred to UK Medical Center where he succumbed to his injuries just after 5 p.m.

Frankfort Police say an investigation is underway.

Is war in space inevitable?

Here on Earth, the air, land, and sea are zones of conflict, clashes and combat. There is a growing perception that next up is the ocean of space, transformed into an arena for warfare.

There is ongoing chatter regarding military use of space by various nations. The freshly established U.S. Space Force, for instance, is busily shaping how best to protect U.S. and allied interests in the increasingly contested and congested space domain.

What conditions could lead to clashes in space? Is such a situation a given, or can conflicts be short-circuited ahead of time? Could nations “slip into” off-planet muscle-flexing, quarreling and actual warfighting in space that might spark confrontation here on terra firma?

Space.com contacted several leading military space and security experts, asking for their opinions on the current status of the militarization of space.

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150,000+ Sign French Letter Warning Of Civil War, Demanding Major Anti-Islamist Changes To Society.

On April 21, thousands of French servicemen and women, including some 20 retired generals signed a letter warning political leaders that the country was heading for civil war as a result of the increasing threat of radical Islam. Now, after condemnations from France’s political establishment, thousands more have signed a new document doubling-down.

Government ministers condemned the original message, some likening it to a military putsch.

Marine Le Pen – French President Emmanuel Macron’s likely opponent in the 2022 French Presidential election – welcomed the letter and called on the generals to join her for a political solution to the situation. Polls showed that around 60 percent of French people support the original letter’s contents and message.

France’s Minister of Defense and the head of the French Army announced that they would sanction active duty soldiers who signed onto the letter which declared :”It is no longer the time to procrastinate, otherwise tomorrow civil war will put an end to this growing chaos…”

As a result, thousands of active duty members of the French armed forces published another letter supporting their compatriots.

More political fallout is to be expected as a result of this new publication.

Below is a translation of this second letter, which at the time of writing, had over a million signatures:

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NY Times Tells Huge Whopper About Gas Lines and Shortages After Cyber Attack

Remember once upon a time when people used to call the New York Times the “paper of record?” It was considered the standard of reporting.

That seems so long ago. Now, random people tweeting on the internet are more accurate than the Times and their bias is frequently stark.

Here’s the latest entry in the Unreality Olympics. The New York Times is claiming there have been “no long lines” as a result of the Colonial Pipeline cyber attack.

From NY Times:

Since the pipeline shutdown, there have been no long lines at gasoline stations, and because many traders expected the interruption to be brief, the market reaction was muted. Nationwide, the price of regular gasoline climbed by only half a cent to $2.97 on Monday from Sunday, even though the company could not set a timetable for restarting the pipeline. New York State prices remained stable at $3 a gallon, according to the AAA motor club.

“Potentially it will be inconvenient,” said Ed Hirs, an energy economist at the University of Houston. “But it’s not a big deal because there is storage in the Northeast and all the big oil and gas companies can redirect seaborne cargoes of refined product when it is required.”

The problem with this? We can see all the videos of the long lines at the various gas stations around the East Coast, with some stations going dry and posting “out of gas signs,” as my colleague Jennifer Oliver O’Connell reported. We can also see the stories of the prices going up. Do they actually have any real reporters at the New York Times or are they just so invested in protecting Joe Biden and not covering anything negative that facts have no meaning for them?

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Stillwater high schoolers stage ‘Back the Blue’ walkout

A group of Stillwater Area High school students walked out of class Thursday morning to show support for police officers.

Students were encouraged to wear blue and bring thin blue line flags. A group of counter-protesters also showed up.

The “Back the Blue” rally lasted about 20 minutes before everyone went back to class.

BLUF:
T. Patrick Hill Ph.D. is an associate professor at Rutgers University where he teaches ethics and law in the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy.

⇑⇑⇑THIS is why you must take extreme care in selecting which college, if any, you send your children to. Because these are the idiots who will be filling your children’s minds with crap like this⇓⇓⇓

Gun ownership, yes! As a right, no! | Opinion

So, we have to change the national conversation. A basic reason for the interminable debate over gun violence in America has been the general assumption that there is a right to a gun. However, given the nature and function of rights, is it conceivable that a gun as such, regardless of any consequences, good or bad, of its use, qualifies for that status? That is the question that has been and continues to be unexamined.

As long as it does, the very absurdity of such a notion will continue to offend our common humanity. With each new mass shooting, the shooter often possesses a gun to which, he has an unqualified and inviolable right to have, including the consequences of its use. But if a gun can be used with such devastating consequences, how can its possession qualify for the status of a right? A standard response has been that it is people, not guns, who shoot people. The sophistry here should be obvious.

Put simply, a right is a claim made to something perceived as a benefit to be enjoyed. The strength of the claim is derived from the basis on which the benefit is viewed as a right. That basis will also be a measure of the value, relative or absolute, separable or inseparable, of the benefits to be enjoyed. This also enables us to prioritize among rights, as a civil right like the right to vote, and a human right like the right to liberty, with human rights superseding civil rights.

The right to liberty, as a human right is both absolute and inseparable by virtue of its basis, which is being human. In the absence of being at liberty, one’s identity as a human being is at its core compromised. Liberty, in other words, is integral to human beings, by virtue of birth, and is independent for its origination of any authority such as the United States Constitution, which does not initiate but only confirms it. Despite the substantial difference noted between civil and human rights, it is clear that the function of a right in both instances is the same. It justifies the claim to enjoy the benefits of the objects to which a right is asserted, with the consequence that actions taken under the right are rightful actions. If so, then it is reasonable to ask what actions were taken under the right to a gun might be justified.

The most obvious issue that comes to mind is self-defense. But a Harvard study showed that people used a gun for self-defense in 1% only of 14,000 crimes committed between 2007-2011, suggesting that society has more effective alternative means of self-defense. That aside, gun ownership data are decidedly negative for society. A 2018 survey confirmed that American civilians own 393 million guns, even as other research shows unequivocally that households with guns are less safe, and run a higher risk for accidental deaths, suicides and domestic homicides. Compared with Canada’s gun-related death rates of 0.47 deaths per 100,000 people, the rate of gun-related deaths in the United States is nine times higher at 10.6 deaths per 100,000 people. In comparison with Denmark where the rate is 0.15 deaths per 100,000 people, the rate in the United States is 29 times higher.

Coincidently, during COVID-19, gun sales in the United States have grown exponentially, accompanied, according to research at the University of California-Davis, by an 8% increase in violence across the country. Last year, 41,000 people were killed because of gun violence.

Concede the Second Amendment was intended to confer the right to a gun, then in light of the inevitable loss of life in America from guns claimed as a right, one must also acknowledge an unavoidable trivialization of rights generally in which the rights to life or liberty of thousands have been sacrificed to secure the right to a gun. What absurdity is this not? Whatever the Second Amendment means, it must not be such as to allow a right to a gun to offend humanity by trivializing our rights to it.

Military operations are the great equalizer. Combat cares not one whit about sex, creed, race, color, origin, orientation, or any of the 47 genders. If you have a force that can’t perform, no matter how diverse, woke, or politically correct, you lose. And “…in war, there is no substitute for victory.”

Nearly Half of Female Soldiers Still Failing New Army Fitness Test, While Males Pass Easily

More than seven months after the official launch of the Army Combat Fitness Test, or ACFT, nearly half of female soldiers are still falling short, with enlisted women struggling the most, Military.com has learned. The data again raises questions about whether the Army‘s attempt to create a fitter force is creating more barriers to success for women.

Internal Army figures from April show 44% of women failed the ACFT, compared to 7% of men since Oct. 1. “Female soldiers continue to lag male soldier scores in all events,” according to a United States Army Forces Command briefing obtained by Military.com.

FORSCOM data includes the results of 106,000 ACFTs taken in the first half of fiscal 2021. This amounts to 27% of women and 36% of men in the force who also have scores logged into the Army’s database, meaning the data could potentially be incomplete. FORSCOM tracks 3,400 new fitness tests per week on average.

The Army remains in a beta phase for the ACFT. Until March 2022, scores on the test will not affect soldiers’ careers; officials have said they may implement additional changes before then, including gender-specific standards.

The most difficult event for both male and female soldiers is the two-mile run, with 5% and 22% failing, respectively. The run must be completed within 21 minutes.

While the previous Army fitness test’s two-mile run actually had a more challenging minimum passing time for most age groups, the ACFT’s run takes place after five physically draining events, adding another level of difficulty.

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We’ve warned them enough in the past. They should have been sunk.

12+ Iranian Gunboats Swarm 6 U.S. Warships, Dozens Of Warning Shots Fired

Iranian military gunboats with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, a designated terrorist organization, swarmed several U.S. warships on Monday that were escorting a U.S. submarine.

“Over a dozen Iranian gunboats harass formation of six U.S. warships including guided-missile submarine Georgia,” Fox News Pentagon correspondent Lucas Tomlinson said. “U.S. Coast Guard cutter fired warning shots in response in Strait of Hormuz.”

The 13 Iranian military vessels reportedly came within 150 yards of U.S. Forces, which fired 30 warning shots at the Iranian vessels. Pentagon press secretary John Kirby called the incident “significant” since previous incidents had involved fewer vessels.

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In the emptiness of space, Voyager I detects plasma ‘hum’

ITHACA, N.Y. – Voyager 1 – one of two sibling NASA spacecraft launched 44 years ago and now the most distant human-made object in space – still works and zooms toward infinity.

The craft has long since zipped past the edge of the solar system through the heliopause – the solar system’s border with interstellar space – into the interstellar medium. Now, its instruments have detected the constant drone of interstellar gas (plasma waves), according to Cornell University-led research published in Nature Astronomy.

Examining data slowly sent back from more than 14 billion miles away, Stella Koch Ocker, a Cornell doctoral student in astronomy, has uncovered the emission. “It’s very faint and monotone, because it is in a narrow frequency bandwidth,” Ocker said. “We’re detecting the faint, persistent hum of interstellar gas.”

This work allows scientists to understand how the interstellar medium interacts with the solar wind, Ocker said, and how the protective bubble of the solar system’s heliosphere is shaped and modified by the interstellar environment.

Launched in September 1977, the Voyager 1 spacecraft flew by Jupiter in 1979 and then Saturn in late 1980. Travelling at about 38,000 mph, Voyager 1 crossed the heliopause in August 2012.

After entering interstellar space, the spacecraft’s Plasma Wave System detected perturbations in the gas. But, in between those eruptions – caused by our own roiling sun – researchers have uncovered a steady, persistent signature produced by the tenuous near-vacuum of space.

“The interstellar medium is like a quiet or gentle rain,” said senior author James Cordes, the George Feldstein Professor of Astronomy. “In the case of a solar outburst, it’s like detecting a lightning burst in a thunderstorm and then it’s back to a gentle rain.”

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