Friday, July 18, 2008

RUSSIAN GRENADE GUIDE

Russian Grenade Guide

Thermobaric Grenade Brings Down the House

Xm1040 A woman and two children in Afghanistan died on Sunday, the AP reports, after their house was "destroyed" in a U.S.-led raid. But the story may not be quite so simple.

During one of the engagements, several militants barricaded themselves in a building on the compound and engaged coalition forces with a high volume of gunfire. Coalition forces used a single grenade which killed the attacking militants," the statement said. "However, the building the militants were fighting from collapsed."

The implication is that it is surprising that a building should collapse under those circumstances, that it cannot have been just the grenade which did it. The MSNBC story suggests that one of the soldiers 'lobbed a grenade', reinforcing the impression that this was one of those 'pineapple' fragmentation hand grenades that were around circa WWII. But that's not what the coalition statement says.

I suspect that the grenade involved may have been the 40mm thermobaric XM1060 fired from a launcher. This is a special cartridge developed for Afghanistan which generates a much more destructive blast than normal explosives. It was fielded in 2002 'in record time' and was very popular for use against targets in enclosed spaces such as caves.

"Commanders report that it has given them the capability needed for urban terrain and close-quarters cave operations," it was reported more recently. (My emphasis)

Thermobarics are renowned for their ability to demolish buildings, an effect of the prolonged overpressure produced by the blast. One brochure for the thermobaric SMAW-NE rocket bore the title 'thermobaric urban destruction' -- and showed what the warhead could do against buildings. In 2002, at Fort Leonard Wood, there was a demonstration of thermobaric infantry weapons with the title Bring Down The House.

Of course, there may be a different explanation. But when you give individual infantrymen increased firepower which includes the ability to demolish buildings, then a certain amount of additional collateral damage is not at all surprising.

UPDATE

Mud brick buildings - which comprise most village structures in Afghanistan - are much more prone to collapse than fired brick. And the power of thermobaric rounds can surprise their users, as this anecdote illustrates:

We got a batch of thermobaric rounds for our SMAW's in the Marine Corps just before the invasion of Iraq. They are already fairly powerful weapons. No one knew what to expect with the new rounds.

A friend of mine was attached to a battalion that was tasked with crossing a bridge while moving north toward Baghdad. On the other side of the bridge were two stone buildings, the bottom floors of which had been turned into reinforced bunkers. The Commander decided to let the SMAW gunners have a crack at them. Someone found the case with the new ammo and said, "Hey, why don't you see what these can do?"

The gunners crawled up to the near side of the river bank and took aim. On command, they both fired. WHAM! To everyone's astonishment, both buildings completely collapsed into piles of rocks. "That was cool. Do we have any more of those things?" was the Commander's response.

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MUST SEE VIDEO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jh-l1mr2h98

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Is the world facing Thermobaric Terrorism?

By David Eshel - Defense Analyst

The not so distant threat could involve a new terrorist weapon: the Thermobaric bomb

Canadian defense scientists are leading an international effort to devise protection against new and more powerful terrorist explosives designed to flatten buildings and rupture people's internal organs. This kind is of weapon, developed during the Cold War in the former Soviet Union, is known highly lethal in confined surroundings, such as underground tube systems and rail carriages.

According to Tom Burky, a leading explosives expert: " Thermobaric bombs, which the U.S. military is striving to perfect, may also be emerging as a weapon of choice for terrorists".

Termed "thermobaric," the relatively new explosive belongs to a class of fuel-rich compositions that release energy over a longer period of time than standard explosives, thereby creating a long-duration pressure pulse when detonated in confined spaces.

Thermobaric explosives (TBXs) are mixtures of conventional explosives and specific additives, such as aluminum, that undergo combustion after the detonation reaction. This secondary combustion phenomenon leads to specific shape and propagation characteristics in the resulting highly lethal shock wave. The burning plasma clouds can penetrate even the smallest cracks, and when the slurry is completely consumed, the resulting vacuum causes a massive back-blast that crushes everything in the area.

There are already signs that terrorists are trying to create thermobaric weapons.

For instance, in 2002 a tanker truck was used in a suicide attack on a synagogue in Tunisia, thought to be the work of Al-Qaeda. Some experts believe the way the fuel tanks were rigged with explosives shows a knowledge of fuel-air explosive techniques.

Designs for a fuel-air device were also acquired by the CIA from three alleged IRA members on trial in Colombia. The three are said to have been developing the bomb in conjunction with the local guerrilla group. The bomb detonated by al-Qaeda operatives on the Indonesian island of Bali, used the same principles that are behind thermobaric explosives, say scientists with Defense Research and Development Canada. "We just learned about thermobaric explosives in the late '80s when the Soviet Union was disintegrating," said Stephen Murray, head of the threat assessment group at the defense agency's Suffield, Alta., laboratories. "Those weapons later started showing up on the open market."

Thermobaric Weapons

The weapons he referred to apply to a wide range of thermobaric devices, which were used by Russia in the Chechnya campaign of 1999. A US Marine Corps study, based on interviews with Russian officers and Chechens, concluded that they were capable of killing troops in bunkers and destroying buildings that hadn't been reinforced. "Walls and surfaces do not necessarily shield victims," notes a US training manual.

Among the latest additions is the Russian thermobaric grenade--brought out on 23 July 2001 by the Bazalt Research and Production Center.

Western countries are developing similar weapons. The US created a bazooka with a thermobaric warhead called the SMAW-NE for the war in Iraq. China recently unveiled its own version, and the UK is also reported to be working on one - although the defense ministry insists that it is merely an "enhanced blast weapon". Such weapons are reported to have been used by US Special forces to rout out Taliban hiding in the Afghan Tora Bora mountain caves.

According to forensic experts, a Thermobaric explosive device is relatively easy to make. In fact, the materials to make a thermobaric bomb can be obtained without a license. And while an improvised bomb may differ from the military version, it can still have a devastating impact, said Burky.

Based on the knowledge published over the past years, in the so-called Terrorist Handbook, a notorious internet website, which depicts precise working instructions to bombmakers, it can be expected that in their search for more effective weapons in underground passages, tube and rail lines and other confined mass packed environments the terrorists will come up with more sophisticated measures.

Underground Transport Terrorism

Perhaps the most dangerous targets for Thermobaric terrorism are the big city underground networks, counter terrorist experts warn.

According to Alphus Hinds, head of secure risk at Interfleet "The underground rail system presents the terrorist with a composite choice of tactic and target permutations, from which a 'kill matrix' can be produced - that is an assessment of the likely number of casualties resulting from a particular combination of target and modus operandi".

Hinds, who specializes in the assessment of asymmetric and novel threats with particular emphasis on non conventional terrorism knows what he is talking about.

Between 1998 and 2004, there have been over 185 separate terrorist attacks on heavy rail, metro subway systems and light rail systems worldwide. Terrorists have targeted the full spectrum of the rail transport environment, including trains, ticket halls, passenger stations, train depots, railway bridges, tracks and signaling, resulting in around 700 deaths and over 4,000 injuries with an accompanying economic loss totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.

On 15 March, 2004 British Transport Police Deputy Chief Constable Andy Trotter emphasized no specific threat to the London Underground or rail system had been received, "The Met's ongoing review of Tube security had been 'thrown into stark relief by those awful incidents in Madrid' he said, 'We are throwing everything we've got at this because it is the number one challenge for us'."

The two London Transport bombings only one year later clearly warned that it was not enough to impede terrorists from their gruesome task.

Training First Responders Against Themobaric IED

One area of concern, say counter insurgency experts, is the lack of adequate training available for first responders in how to identify and counter thermobaric weapons.

There are some federal agencies that have begun discussing thermobaric weapons related to terrorists, but the sensitive nature of the weapons has slowed the flow of information, warn counter terrorist officials.

Defending buildings against such an attack would be extremely difficult. The deadliest conventional car-bomb attacks have been those where the attacker succeeded in getting a vehicle packed with explosives very close to the target.

To prevent this, concrete barriers have been placed around many buildings regarded as potential targets. But the barriers would have to be much further away than at present to provide the same level of protection against fuel-air devices of a similar size.

Underground rail security and Emergency and law enforcement personnel should be instructed about safe standoff distances, how buildings might channel a thermobaric blast and how to defuse a bomb when they suspect its presence.

In simple but stark terms: The thermobaric bomb is just about the most vicious weapon you can imagine -- igniting the air, sucking the oxygen out of an enclosed area, and creating a massive pressure wave crushing anything unfortunate enough to have lived through the conflagration.

Underground transportation officials, being exceeding vulnerable to this new threat should lose no time finding answers to forefend another mass terror tragedy to their passengers.

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This page will serve to assist in the identification of Russian grenades.

It should be noted that the size of the grenades are not in relation to each other.

Many thanks to the contributors of photos for this page, Erhard Koch, Bruno Marcusso, Ed Strazdes

and thanks to Kirill for identifying the ROG43 for us.


Stick Grenade	M1912	M1914	M1914 with supplemental charge

M1917 Gas	Novikov & Feodorov	M1915 rifle	40.6 mm Fragmentation

RGD33	RGD33 Practice	VGD	F1 with Koveshnikov fuze

F1 with UZRGM fuze	URG	VKG40	RPG40

RG41	VPGS41	RG42	ROG43

Ceramic F1	Mortar shell with Koveshikov fuze, also can be found with the UZRG fuze mechanism.	RPG43	RPG-6

RGD-5	URG-N	RKG-3	UPG-8

RGO	RGN

RDG-2

Thursday, July 17, 2008

STEPHEN CAMP - SIG SAUER 210 & MORE

A Critical Look at the SIG P-210 9mm

By Stephen Camp

Generally regarded as the most intrinsically accurate "service" pistol extant, the SIG P-210 has always commanded a hefty price. While part of this can be due to both import tariffs and exchange rates, the fact is that the gun's always been expensive. I bought my first one in the mid-'70's for the princely sum of $350.00 which would have bought two Browning Hi Powers and left change or nearly three Colt Series 70 forty-five automatics! A kindly gun dealer, Mr. Wilford Pierce, let me pay it out "on the book," as it was commonly called. At that time, the model designation was P-210-6 and it came with a very good trigger and a fine click-adjustable rear sight with a post front sight. The stocks were finely checkered and almost blonde. I don't recall what kind of wood, but the pistol appeared elegant.

Foolishly, I traded it off for a new S&W Model 66 with 4" barrel, an extra set of grips, a buck knife, and $35 cash!

I bought another on 03/26/96. Surprisingly, mine is marked "P-210-6," but is a fixed sight pistol. Perhaps model designations changed or the guns were originally intended to be for an adjustable sight pistol. I flat don't know.

This is my second SIG P-210. It's put together very well and its POI exactly matches POA for me with most ammunition. I've read that its spectacular intrinsic accuracy is limited to but one load, a 147-grain Swiss FMJ round made for maximum accuracy performance in this model pistol. I've never shot any of it so I don't know, but reports that the P-210 "is no more accurate than other quality automatics" has not been proven true in my experience. I have some other pistols that group as tightly as the P-210 for me, but none that group better and I'm not capable of shooting well enough to tell the difference. The pistol is 8.5" in overall length with a barrel measuring 4.72." It weighs 2.14 lbs. and is all steel. The single-stack magazine holds 8 rounds of 9mm ammunition. It has a FLGR and a captive recoil spring and uses a one-piece feed ramp like the Browning Hi Power and other pistols. Rifling twist is listed at 1:10 in most places, but it's actually closer to 1:9. It has internal slide rails, i.e., the slide rides inside the frame and this allows for longer slide rails. Like the Makarov, it has its magazine release at the pistol butt to the rear of the magazine well. There is no internal firing pin safety, nor is the external thumb safety ambidextrous. The extractor is external and pinned. It does have a magazine safety.

I do not know if the trigger, slide release, and hammer are hard chromed with a matte finish or some other finish has been applied or if they're matte finished stainless, but on the well-done blued slide and frame, they make for an attractive appearance.

This pistol's front sight is a serrated ramp that's steep enough to be almost a "semi-ramp" and is dovetailed in place. The top of the slide is nicely serrated.

The rear sight is a "U" shape that I find mildly annoying, but must say that it has not affected being able to get both a good sight picture in slow fire. Its front sight is thin and fine for precise, slow shooting, but hard for me to pick up at speed. You can see the finish on the hammer and slide stop in this picture as well as the thumb safety in front of the grip. Note also the reversed slide rails and the fit between slide and frame.

An unusual feature of this pistol is that the entire hammer, sear, mainspring assembly can be removed from the frame as a single unit for ease in cleaning.

In this picture, you can see how well the stocks fit the gun as well as the almost invisible seam where they meet. Under the tang, you can see a screw head. Removal of this screw allows for the hammer, sear, and mainspring to be lifted out of the frame when the slide is removed.

The interior finish on the P-210 is better than the exterior finish on many of today's pistols.

The SIG P-210 is well finished both inside and out. Though they cannot be seen in this photo, the slide grooves in the frame run the full-length of the frame and there's very little movement either vertically or horizontally between the slide and frame.

The barrel is precisely machined and fitted to the pistol. This feed ramp has not been polished nor have any "tool marks" been removed. What you see is how the P-210 comes out of the box.

The pistol feels "graceful" to me an in a way similar to the Browning 9mm Hi Power. I do wish that from the factory, the Browning/FN Hi Power had either fine stippling or serrations to improve the grip when hands are wet or sweaty.

The P-210 has a finely serrated front grip strap. It provides ample purchase and is quite comfortable in firing.

So, it's a well-made, very expensive pistol in 9mm, but how does it shoot and is it reliable? The two that I've owned were with ball and most JHP rounds but do hang up now and again with the short 90-grain JHP 9mm cartridges. This really doesn't bother me as I seldom shoot anything less than 100-grains and most often, 124-grain bullets are my choice.

This 10-shot group was fired using a rest from 25 yards with the shown handload that's proven accurate in several other 9mm pistols including Browning Hi Powers and CZ-75's.

If you happen to mortgage the house and buy one of these, you'll at least find that it groups the widely used Winchester 115-grain USA FMJ very well. The flyers in both targets are my fault, not the gun.

Also fired from a rest and with wrists sandbagged, this group was fired at fifty yards. It's the handload shown above and uses Hornady's excellent 124-grain XTP over 6.0 grains of Unique.

I killed this javelina using the same handload from the SIG P-210 in far south Texas a few years ago.

As shown in the preceding picture, I've used the P-210 in the field on a couple of occasions. I did not find the smallish sights to be a problem, but I do think they would be in dimmer light or if trying to use them very quickly…at least for my eyes. (I'm also happy to report that I've lost about 35-lbs. since that picture was taken!)

The P-210 does not have a "slow" barrel and here are the velocity figures for some loads I've tested in the pistol. As usual, they're based on 10-shot averages with the gun's muzzle being about 10' from the screens.

Load Velocity (ft/sec)

Handload: 115 gr Hornady XTP/6.0 gr Unique/Starline Cases/ WSP primer

LOA: 1.11" 1238 (ES: 9, SD: 6)

Handload: 124 gr Hornady XTP/6.0 gr Unique/Starline Cases/WSP primer

LOA: 1.11" 1280 (ES: 81,SD: 34)

Handload: Speer 124 gr GDHP/6.0 gr Unique/WSP/Starline Cases

LOA: 1.115" 1195 (ES: 62, SD: 26)

Winchester USA 115 gr FMJ 1242 (ES: 38, SD: 15)*

(*This is much hotter than previously checked loads. No Nato marking on cases.)

Remington 115 gr +P JHP 1291 (ES: 17, SD: 7)

Federal 115 gr JHP (9BP) 1173 (ES: 42, SD: 18)

MagTech 115 gr FMJ 1148 (ES: 50, SD: 18)

Notice that in the two XTP handloads, everything is identical except for the bullet weight. The slightly heavier, slightly longer 124-grain causes more pressure and in this case, higher velocity than the 115-grain load.

While this P-210 will group decently with cast and plated bullets, for me it has done its best with jacketed ammunition be it factory or home-rolled.

The pistol is a very good one, but it does have its less than stellar features as do all handguns. First, it is very expensive. Even used or refurbished ones run from about $800 and upward. Its importation is an on again - off again sort of thing and spare parts can be hard to find and they will be expensive. For example, a spare factory magazine costs around one hundred dollars. They're certainly well made, but I just don't see the single-stack 8-shot magazine being a hundred bucks' worth! As mentioned earlier, the recoil spring is captive so changing or replacing is not so easy as it might be was this not the case. In my case, the hammer routinely bites me and due to cost of replacing it, I'm very hesitant to try and bob the spur or alter the pistol very much at all. Unfortunately, as a result I don't shoot this gun as much as I would otherwise. When at the range, I take a bit lower grip on the pistol and usually have a piece of duct tape covering the web between my thumb and forefinger. When hunting, I just get bitten!

Though I've never really considered this pistol for a defensive arm, some might. While it absolutely has more accuracy than most could ever put to use, it does have some drawbacks in my experience. With eight rounds on tap, it has sufficient magazine capacity (some will disagree on this), but the butt release on this pistol is pretty stout and the magazine must be pulled from the gun. I really don't mind this for hunting or range work as a speed reload is not a necessity and I'm not so likely to drop, damage, or lose those high-dollar magazines, but it would be slow in a fight. For others, and myself the thumb safety is a bit too far forward for easy on and off manipulation and the smallish sights, slow to pick up in a hurry. Because the design uses the reversed slide rail set up, there's less of the slide to grasp in a hurry should you have a malfunction (very rare) or need to chamber a round in a hurry. While the trigger does have the usual military type take up, the actual trigger pull is light and crisp. I've not measured this one, but I'd estimate it at about 3 1/2 lbs. A momentary lapse of proper gun handling and a finger on the trigger with the safety off when not immediately preparing to fire might just result in an unintended firing of the pistol under stress.

I came pretty close to selling this pistol a short time back, but when I got it out and began photographing it from all angles for the prospective buyer, I realized that I really didn't want to…so, I didn't. I'll keep the thing and enjoy it for what it is, recognizing that while not perfect, it is very well made and try to appreciate it for its strong points. I am not interested in another unless at a ridiculously low price and in very good condition. I might consider some customization to such a P-210.

If they're still being imported, some of the complaints I've mentioned have been addressed by SIG in another version of the pistol. It has an extended tang, oversized thumb safety, better sights, and a push button magazine release. The last time I heard, it had a price tag near $5,000, too!

For me, the two P-210's that I've shot were extremely accurate with a wide variety of loads in several bullet weights. They've been reliable and easy to carry in the hunting field, too, but I remain quite concerned with the price and scarcity of both accessories and spare parts. That said, they do have a certain "style" or "class" about them and if you truly want high quality, this might be a viable choice. It will help if you have smaller hands to fully appreciate the pistol as you're less likely to get smacked with the hammer spur. If not, try and love a lower grip with this gun at the range!

Being perfectly honest, was I interested in another highly accurate and reliable 9mm, I'd probably get another FN Competition Model or STI Trojan 1911. The latter can be had in standard 5" barrel length or in the 6" long slide. All three of these have more built-in accuracy than I can wring out and I flat cannot tell you which is the most accurate. Even though I prefer the Hi Power in many cases, I'd probably go with another STI, but that's for another time.

For those still reading, I did buy the gun with the optional .22 conversion unit. While the conversion is quite accurate, mine has not proven reliable. Extra magazines are even more expensive than those for 9mm.

The finish and tool marks on the .22 barrel are much more visible than on the 9mm barrel.

Except for the magazine, this is the conversion unit. It, too, has fixed sights that are well regulated.

I like the P-210-6 and appreciate it for its extremely precise fitting and closely held tolerances, but in a fight and for general use with the 9mm, I'd take a lightly modified Browning Mk III Hi Power. For pure bullseye shooting, I prefer the FN Comp or the STI Trojan 6" and for hunting small game with a 9mm, I'll take the Trojan the vast majority of the time.

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Kerry welcomes HIV-infected immigrants
Senator sponsors '$80-million' plan to lift U.S. ban against visa seekers with disease

Posted: July 16, 2008
8:40 pm Eastern

© 2008 WorldNetDaily

Immigrants infected with HIV may no longer be banned from living in the U.S. for the first time in more than 20 years.

A $50 billion Senate bill (SB 2731) intended to combat AIDS in Africa and other impoverished areas may effectively repeal a 1987 ban prohibiting travel and immigration for people infected with HIV. The U.S. is one of several countries to have such a rule, including Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Libya, and Russia, the Associated Press reports.

Supporters of the proposal say the policy is dated and must be eliminated. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass, said even China has lifted its ban against travelers with the disease.

"[It's] time to move beyond an antiquated, knee-jerk reaction" to HIV-infected people, Kerry said. "There's no excuse for a law that stigmatizes a particular disease."

He said even immigrants with avian flu or Ebola virus have a smoother path to citizenship than those with HIV.

Kerry and Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., have stepped up efforts to revoke the ban and have piggybacked their plan to AIDS legislation expected to pass as early as this week.

According to the AP, while HIV-infected foreigners, students and tourists are allowed to apply for permission to visit for a short period of time, such waivers are difficult to come by, and permanent residency can be nearly impossible to for them to acquire.

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Wednesday, July 16, 2008

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Breaking Obama SuperDs Switching to Hillary!

By TexasDarlin on July 15, 2008 at 7:01 PM in Barack Obama, Democratic National Convention, Hillary Clinton, Superdelegates, denver

Alegre at Alegre’s Corner breaks the story:

…There are unconfirmed reports based on phone banking efforts to reach out to Super D’s that 8 previously Obama SD’s, expressed that, given the opportunity, they would vote for Hillary at the convention.

Did you get that?

Superdelegates who have “declared” for Obama are now saying that they would vote for Hillary at the convention.

How many more disillusioned SuperDs are out there?

No wonder Obama wants to break with tradition and keep Hillary off the convention ballot, even though she won more popular votes than he did, and neither of them earned enough pledged delegates to secure the nomination.

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L.A. not ready for disaster

By Kerry Cavanaugh, Staff Writer

Article Last Updated: 07/14/2008 11:07:03 PM PDT

RELATED:
Read the full report here

With multiple levels of bureaucracy and outdated emergency plans, the city of Los Angeles is not as prepared as it should be in the event of a major disaster, according to an audit released Monday.

While police, fire and other individual departments have good plans to respond to large-scale emergencies such as an earthquake or terrorist attack, L.A. lacks an overarching strategy on how to manage a crisis.

"I do not want the public to be afraid," said Controller Laura Chick, who ordered the audit. "But I want the public to know that the city of Los Angeles is not as well-prepared for a widespread disaster as we need to be and as we can be."

As the nation's second-largest city, Los Angeles is a possible target for terrorism. It is also at risk for natural disasters, including earthquakes, major wildfires and tsunamis. In recent years, leaders have also begun to plan for the possibility of a pandemic flu outbreak.

Los Angeles won accolades in a 2006 national survey for being one of the most prepared cities for a major emergency - although officials said that was more a reflection on the widespread lack of preparation by most other cities.

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Thieves stealing gas from cars

By Kia Gregory

Inquirer Staff Writer

Standing outside her West Oak Lane home on her way to work one morning, Carol Abbott couldn't figure out why her car wouldn't start.

She then discovered that someone had siphoned her gas tank dry.

"I was appalled," said Abbott, 50. "I just couldn't believe somebody singled out my car. Did they walk up to my car in the middle of the night? It just amazed me."

As gas prices rise, police note, so do such thefts.

"It's an unfortunate sign of the times," said Sgt. Ray Evers of the Philadelphia Police Department's public affairs unit. "It's going to become a trend until these gas prices come down."

That, in turn, has sparked the revival of another trend: gas caps that lock.

Abbott said she traveled to three auto supply stores before she found one for her SUV.

Depending on vehicle make and model, the caps range in price from $10 to $25.

"They're selling like crazy," said Crystal Armstrong, an AutoZone store manager in West Oak Lane. Managers at similar stores throughout the city agreed.

"Everybody is picking them up," said a manager at Strauss Discount Auto in the Northeast. "And with gas prices getting higher, I don't see it slowing down."

In the Philadelphia area, the average cost of a gallon of regular gas is $4.15, up from $2.97 a year ago, according to AAA. For Abbott, that means about $65 to fill her tank.

"It just hurts," she said. "It hurts to pay that much for gas, especially when you have other bills to pay - and then for someone to steal it."

Typically, Evers said, thieves siphon gas through a hose into a container, sucking on the hose to start the flow. It can take less than 30 seconds to steal a gallon.

Evers recommended that drivers park in well-lit areas, make sure their gas tanks face the street instead of the curb, and buy locking gas caps.

"You want to deter them to go to the next car," he said.

Said Armstrong: "People are getting gas the best way they can."

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Cops to IndyMac customers: Remain calm or face arrest

Daily News Wire Services

Article Last Updated: 07/15/2008 09:25:40 AM PDT

Police ordered angry customers lined up outside an IndyMac Bank branch to remain calm or face arrest Tuesday as they tried to pull their money on the second day of the failed institution's federal takeover.

At least three police squad cars showed up early Tuesday as tensions rose outside the San Fernando Valley branch of Pasadena-based IndyMac.

Federal regulators seized Pasadena-based IndyMac on Friday and reopened the bank Monday under the control of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Deposits to $100,000 are fully insured by the FDIC.

Worried customers with deposits in excess of insured limits flooded IndyMac Bank branches on Monday, demanding to withdraw as much money as they could or get answers about the fate of their funds.

When it was clear some wouldn't get in before closing, FDIC employees apparently took down names and told them to return Tuesday.

Other customers began lining up at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, and by dawn, tensions escalated because people on the list were getting priority.

By 8 a.m., about 50 people on the list waited in one line and many more waited in another.

Five people were allowed in at a time.

Customers became infuriated, and police told them they could be arrested if they didn't remain calm.

Police stood by at some other branches around Southern California but there were no other reports of problems.

For more news and observations about crime in Los Angeles

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ISRAEL-GOG SCROLL Presented To President Bush

Here's an interesting and prophetic article I found on Israel National News today.

Scroll to Mr. Bush Reminds Him of His Historic Role, and in part reads:

"TO THE HONORABLE MR. GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

ESTEEMED MR. GEORGE W. BUSH, THE CHIEF PRINCE OF MESHECH AND TUBAL (EZEKIEL 38:1) OF THE WEST."

The Scroll will be presented to President Bush during his historic visit to the Holy Land of Israel in his push to divide this SACRED LAND, in an appeasement of Israel's enemies, by a group of renowned orthodox Rabbis of Israel, and names Mr. Bush as "Gog" (of the West) who is prophesied about in Ezekiel Chapter 38:

"AND the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Me-shech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:" 1-3

The five page Scroll document can be viewed in a larger quality for easy reading at the Temple Site here, with its stern message and warning from the writers to President Bush concerning the LAND OF ISRAEL AND THE JEWISH PEOPLE, WHOM THE CREATOR GOD ORIGINALLY PROMISED IT TO THROUGH THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT. Leviticus Chapter 25:23 tells us in plain words "The land shall not be sold for ever; FOR THE LAND IS MINE; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me." This is God speaking here, through His Holy Spirit to His prophet Moses, who wrote it down for all generations. The creator God calls the land HIS own personal possession, and it is not to be sold, bartered, given away or whatever word you want to use to justify meddling with the giving away of and cutting up the land of Israel to Israel's enemies.

To hear the Bush Scroll being read on video go here.

For a more detailed depiction of Gog, see my writings here.

Update: January 12, 2008

We know from the Word of God that all nations, including the USofA, will go against Israel in the latter times, (which we are indeed living in today) as we have witnessed very recently in the so-called Annapolis peace summit, and as God's prophet has prophesied in Joel Chapter 3.

"FOR, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and JERUSALEM,

I will also gather ALL NATIONS, and will bring them down into the valley of Je-hosh-a-phat, and will plead with them there for my people and for MY HERITAGE ISRAEL, whom they have scattered among the nations, and PARTED MY LAND."1-2 Notice here that the creator God calls the land of Israel HIS land again, and Israel HIS Heritage.

The words written by these orthodox Rabbis in this historic Biblical Scroll to President Bush are quite foreboding , as God throughout Jewish history in the Old Testament always warned the leaders through his prophets before God's judgment fell on its leaders and the people. No one, including Mr. Bush, can say he was not warned. Likewise, Jesus Christ who was a foreshadow of the things to come, fulfilled the law and the prophets as it is written; Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill Matthew 5:17; therefore, at the same time, these Rabbi "scholars" must certainly know that Mr. Bush is not the Gog the prophet Ezekiel is speaking of in Ezekiel Chapter 38, because Ezekiel, in verse 15 mentions Gog as coming out of the north parts and not the west: 15 "And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee;" I find it ironic, indeed, in that these Rabbi scholars, the likes of whom Jesus the Messiah of Israel rebuked in his day for their refusal to accept Him as the Messiah of Israel; (To these pharisees, Jesus said:)

"Ye are from beneath; I am from above; ye are of this world; I am not of this world. I said therefore unto you,that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins." John 8:23,24

continue to refuse to look at the multitude of Hebrew Scriptures throughout the Old Testament that testify to the Messiahship of Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ; but cunningly and selectively choose to call Mr. Bush Gog knowing full well that this scripture cannot apply to President Bush at all because of the location Ezekiel pinpoints Gog coming from, which is "out of the north parts."

Nevertheless, God's prophet Isaiah, in Chapter 11, tells us that all who go against Judah will be cut off.

"And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

........and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off." vs. 12,13

I fear that tampering with God's Holy City of Jerusalem as Mr. Bush is doing in his push to divide the Holy City to create a "palestinian terrorist state" within the biblical heartland of Israel is a slap in the face to the creator God, and will result in severe consequences as God's prophets have forewarned. God's prophet Zechariah tells us in Chapter 12:

"The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him. 1

Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. 2.

And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people; all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it." 3

The handwriting is on the wall for all who have eyes to see, and there is most definitely a spirit of antichrist at work pushing to divide up Jerusalem. At the same time, these orthodox Jewish Rabbi's need to turn to Christ Jesus the Messiah of Israel themselves for the salvation of their souls. Even the religious Rabbis and religious Jew understands that God's way for the atonement of sin, or redeeming oneself is through blood. As it is written in Leviticus 17:11: "For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you upon the alter to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul."

They are right about the land of Israel insofar as no one has a right to give any of it away to anyone. God, in His Word, has vowed to defend Israel in the latter days and this He will do, just as He has said He would bring the Jewish people back to their ancient homeland of Israel after 2,000 years of exile of being scattered among the nations, after which the nation of Israel was rebirthed in a day, which we have witnessed in our generation.

bush scroll

US TROOPS FORCED OUT OF AFGHAN BASE

Banks Could Put an End to the American Dream

By James Howard Kunstler • July 16th, 2008 •

There’s a particular moment known to all Baby Boomers when Wile E. Coyote, in a rapture of over-reaching, has run past the edge of the mesa and, still licking his chops and rubbing his front paws in anticipation of fricasseed roadrunner, discovers that he is suspended in thin air by nothing more than momentum. Grin becomes chagrin. He turns a nauseating shade of green, and drops, whistling, back to earth thousands of feet below, with a distant, dismal, barely audible thud at the end of his journey. We are Wile E. Coyote Nation.

Is there anyone in the known universe who thinks that the U.S. financial system is not fifty feet beyond the edge of the mesa of credibility?

Nothing will avail now. Not even if Sirhan Sirhan were paroled at noon today and transported directly to the West Wing with a.44 magnum in each hand (and a taxi driven by the Devil waiting outside to take him to the U.S. Treasury and the offices of the Federal Reserve).

It’s hard to imagine what kind of melodramas were unspooling on the Hamptons lawns this weekend, while everybody else in America was watching Nascar, or plying the aisles of BJs Discount Warehouse for next week’s supply of mesquite-and-guacamole flavored Doritos, or having flames and chains tattooed on their necks, or lost in a haze of valium and methedrine.

With the death of the IndyMac Bank last week, and the GSEs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac laying side-by-side in the EMT van on IV drips, headed for the Federal Reserve’s ever more crowded intensive care unit, there was a sense of the American Dream having passed through the event horizon that denotes the opening of a black hole.

What would happen if the U.S. government acted to bail out these feckless enterprises (and what if they don’t)? Either way, it’s not a pretty picture. If Mr. Bernanke does start shoveling loans into the GSE black hole, he’ll further undermine the soundness of his own outfit and do nothing, really, to repair Fannie and Freddie’s structural problem of having securitized too many loans that will never be paid back. If instead Fannie and Freddie are flat-out taken over entirely by the U.S. government (and remember the Federal Reserve is not the government), then the national debt will roughly double overnight – which will pound the U.S. dollar down a rat-hole.

Meanwhile, the foreign holders of those decrepitating dollars might not rush to the redemption window, but they certainly would use them to buy up every oil futures contract on God’s not-so-green Earth as fast as possible – they’d be dumb not to – which would leave American Happy Motorists with gasoline prices north of $5 a gallon, and possibly north of $10. (In that case, say goodbye to the airlines. In fact, say goodbye to what passes for the rest of the US economy, including especially the vaunted retail sector that supposedly counts for 70 percent of the action.)

If Fannie and Freddie are left to die out on the desert floor, say goodbye to the housing market, the major investment banks, countless regional banks, the retirement accounts of virtually everyone in America, the viability of all fifty states’ governments, and the day-to-day operating ability of all their municipalities – and very likely the current incarnation of the world banking system.

This process is really out of control now. The bottom line is the comprehensive bankruptcy of the United States. The Republican Party under George Bush will be known as the party that wrecked America (release 2.0). Painful as it is, Americans had better get a new “Dream” and fast. It better be a dream based on the way the universe actually works, which is to say an operating procedure run on earnest effort and truthfulness rather than merely trying to get something for nothing and wishing on stars. We might begin symbolically by evacuating Las Vegas and calling in an air strike on the loathsome place – to register our new reality-based attitude adjustment.

After that, we’ve got to get to work re-tooling all the everyday activities of life, including the way we grow our food, the way we raise and deploy capital, the way we do trade and manufacturing, the way we go from point A to point B, the way we educate children, the way we stay healthy, and the way we occupy the landscape. I know, it sounds like a lot, maybe too much. But grok this: we don’t have any choice if we want a plausible future on this portion of the North American continent.

Of course, none of that is likely to happen. Instead, and under the worst imaginable economic conditions, we’ll probably embark on a campaign to prop up the un-prop-up-able and sustain the unsustainable – that is, defend every status quo habit and behavior that we’re used to, whether it can be salvaged or not. Of course, this would be a fatal squandering of our dwindling resources, but it tends, historically, to be the last act of the melodrama in any faltering empire.

The result, pretty soon into that process, will be social breakdown and political upheaval. Every tattoo freak out there who has been prepping for his own starring role in some kind of comic book Armageddon will finally get his chance to shine. Lots of people will get hurt and starve. Property will change hands in a disorderly way. And at the end of this process an American corn-pone Hitler may be waiting to set everything and everyone straight.

James Howard Kunstler
for The Daily Reckoning Australia

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WEAPONS OF CHOICE
Wipeout: Toilet paper giant flushes gun-freedom law
Plant defies Florida statute, bans employees from keeping firearms in vehicles

A popular American pulp and paper company has banned employees at its toilet paper plant from storing concealed weapons in their cars while on company property – a move that defies Florida gun law.

Georgia-Pacific cited a Homeland Security exemption from a statute authorizing workers with concealed-weapons permits to have guns locked in their cars because it says the plant handles large amounts of explosive fuel, the Miami Herald reported.

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