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Alright, enough. This should have been taken to PM's awhile back. Thread has been cleaned up, and lets keep this on topic moving forward.

Fortunately, the people who "do bad things to bad people" are on high alert right now, both stateside and abroad (confirmed). My concern is that a lot of the "homeland security" is dependent on the awareness of the general public. A notable example being the attempted car bomb in Times Square that occurred a year ago now. Will people have the same vigilance? I hope so, but I wouldn't be surprised if things fell through the cracks now more then ever.

Like I said, I don't think this changes anything. BL has been the white whale for the IC (intelligence community), but has been generally a non-factor since pretty much the initial operations. This is a win for the people, yes, which benefits... morale? I guess. But to think that any of what is currently happening changes because we got some guy who was on his deathbed anyway... We'll see, and I hope my fears aren't realized any time soon.

I am glad we got him, but I don't see how this changes anything. UBL has not been a major priority in the IC since he exiled himself to Pakistan (it was almost a given he would be found there, it was just a matter of getting boots on the ground in the region-- which I'm more amazed with how they pulled that off). Somebody else has been calling the shots in his organization, and that is without mentioning the countless other threats worldwide. Should be interesting to see how this gets politicized moving forward, and if there will be any backlash from Pakistan.

Yea, I had seen the concept of this type of dissy design on M4C. A manufacturer had polled the community (of sorts) to see the interest-- and I guess there wasn't much wide interest as that manufacturer never released any dissy design... which was disappointing. Needless to say, problem solved

Sweet, that is actually the exact upper I have been itching to get-- its awesome to finally hear some movement on it (Bushmaster has one, but I'll pass on them). Thanks for sharing.

Welcome to the forum!

Egypt has gone about their own business without much help from really anybody (except technology). As for being a lone ranger, well, good luck

Congrats, glad to have shared the honor of protecting the colors along side you, and moving forward.

And the same could be said if we went to areas where the low income populace were white, or any other color for that matter. The point being made here is to not be overtly or subtlety racist by referring to every criminal as black and then substituting terms like "animal" at times. You might be stating true facts at times, but there is a way of doing it without broad-stroking that every black person in urban areas are criminals. ETA: Lets get this thread back on track, or it'll be closed before someone says something they really regret.

Just a hypothetical: What if you come across a household that is very, very anti-gun. You're a gentleman, and say all the right things and go on your way. A few weeks later the police come knocking because of a completely bewildering charge that is obviously and completely false-- and stems from that household that was very anti-gun who came up with some BS (like they felt "at risk because a person was walking around giving out information about firearms, and he seemed mentally unstable"). Sure you would probably be fine in the end, but what happens in the mean time as the process works it self out? Maybe the police or a judge would throw it out immediately, or maybe they would take anything resembling a firearm until things are cleared-- and then you have to deal with getting back your firearms over time. Of course this doesn't include the possible legal fees as well. I really do commend you on taking the initiative, especially in the wake of a tragic event that *should* have been prevented because us law abiding citizens *should* be able to CCW without the hassle if it is our choosing. But, saying this with one foot on the ground, I think we do need to consider the possibility that we, as the firearms community, will always have a crosshair on our backs from the anti's (which includes many of the authority figures) here in NJ. I'm not saying that I think this is a bad idea and should not happen, no way. Again, I really do think this would be very brave of you, just be careful.

Anybody who relies on one single bit of information deserves to get bit in the arse. Spending the extra time doing the research, whether it takes minutes or days or weeks, has far more value then referring, to again, a single source. Personally I have drawn from my own applied experience with the AR-type system, as well as from discussing with plenty of other professionals who were in the same type of industry. But I didn't stop there-- talked to hunters, competition shooters, and casual shooters... and from the holistic approach, I have learned a far greater amount of both the system at the technical level and of my applied use with the system. So, ultimately, I would rather teach a man how to fish, rather then just show him. With that said, sources like SGM Lamb is a good start, but there are plenty of other sources out there with plenty of value-- for free. As for being able to filter out the good with the bad, that's what asking questions is for, as the responses will create a general pattern.

Why even spend the money on any print when more up-to-date information is available online, for free?

Its true, the incarceration numbers, somehow, are vividly different from the arrest numbers. Essentially flip-flopped. To me this shows some kind of disparity somewhere in the process from arrests to incarceration, but that's another debate that I doubt any of us are actually qualified to speak on. As for why crime happens, Vlad touched on it, kind of. Sounded like you were mixing Merton's Strain Theory with a bit of Concentric Zone model (part of social disorganization theory). I'm not a huge theory guy [regarding criminology], but Merton's makes the most sense to me. Beyond the theory, and when applying the numbers, and then examining it a bit more-- turns out the problem seems to be a lot more then how a person looks, what color they are, what their beliefs are, or what their background is. But that's just me. And all of that, for me, adds up to why the number of police really have no direct correlation on the crime rates. I'll agree its just scare politics trying to blow some hot steam to get some political machine going [that will just end up bad for everybody, probably the law-abiding getting the blunt end of it all :thsmiley_deadhorse:]

Using UCR data, which I'll agree with is pretty shoddy, we got cold hard numbers. If anything, the numbers are skewed as crimes are under reported. And yea, I'm not a numbers person, I'm an examiner of the people's person, but here you go: Using the 2009 data, specifically tables 38, 39, and 43, it speaks for itself. This data should not come as a surprise though, considering whites (as defined by whatever terms by DOJ in their data collection) are still the majority in the US. Tables 38 and 39 both have to do with age, and its a no-brainer that the younger age groups are the ones being arrested the most. Table 43 breaks it down by race, and, again, for the aforementioned reasons, its a no-brainer that whites account for almost 70%. The data compiled includes both violent and property crimes. The only category where 'whites' are not significantly ahead is "murder" according to the chart-- otherwise its a landslide. But again, it should come as no surprise as whites are still the majority in the US.

I'll agree that poverty does not equal crime-- heck, the majority of criminals in the US are white, males. The growing number of criminals are white, male, youths from decent backgrounds! Still, there are a lot of factors in the mix that have to do with the crime rate, and its far more then just a lack of police. With that said, I do believe that the fewer number of police do not help; but in terms of causation I would disagree. I'm thinking that in regards to "lack of cops = more crime" only makes sense in that the criminals are emboldened by convincing themselves that by having fewer police they have a lesser chance of getting caught. The fact that they are deviant though, and would do deviant things regardless is the counter to the correlation. (My point being that parts of NJ could have seen a rise in crime, regardless of the situation with the police forces currently). Its hard to discuss though. There is the theory behind it all, and then there is the reality of it. The problem is not a group of people, or where they live, or what their background may be regarding family or SES. Its a mindset it seems and a lack of options in the perspective of the deviant (even if there are plenty of options). I have to agree with the fact that the number of cops have nothing to do with the crime rate at the end of the day.

As I was reading through your post, I was about to ask if that is where your forum name came from! I only recently started looking at West African folklore, and its pretty cool to run in to someone with direct knowledge.

The empirical data of zombies, as well as the different folklore (depending on what region you are in of course-- for some its not so much folklore as it is a "given"), is pretty interesting stuff-- albeit not nearly as "fun" as Romero's take. I have read through Wade Davis' "The Serpent and the Rainbow" for both kicks and critical perspective, and it really grounds the whole genre [regarding zombies-- or, more accurately, vodou].

I got one of those cans of CLP roughly 2-2.5 years ago, and I have hardly put a dent in it (I stay on top of cleaning my firearms). There are better products out there, but I have a soft spot for CLP and use it frequently.

I found this to be pretty interesting: http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/04/25/zombie.virus.zombies.book/index.html?hpt=C2 It definitely isn't a surprise that zombies are mainstream these days, but the fact that its a front-page story (albeit for entertainment purposes... wait, that's all the news!). How the book is described in the article, and the description on the Amazon page makes it to sound like an interesting read. It doesn't seem like it will be as much traditional story-telling, but maybe something more like Brooks' World War Z. I'll put in an order for it later on today when I'm not on a shared network, and update this post when I finish it.

Seems like LA Police Gear is taking pre-orders, so, maybe they're worth giving a call to maybe squeeze out a release date (or at least a non-generic time frame I have mixed feelings about the lime-green coloring, ha, but the knives themselves seem pretty solid. Considering the price point, I wouldn't mind trying out the Kharon Tanto as an EDC, and the Archeron as a belt knife.

I've totally almost bit it because of that chain as well. I blame my genetics though, and my short legs.

I hear you, mipa, no doubt. I think it would be crazy fun (esp if I had an FA like you ), but, for the shared reasons, it would get tiresome lugging them around. I mean, what's the fun in shooting 100 rounds on semi? Haha, no thanks. As for the M16 platform, its a good point, Dan. I don't know the technical data on the wear and tear of using an M16 in a suppressive role, but take for example Mr. Noveske who uses the heavier M249 barrel on his AR rifles. Is it a fix? No way, and would need to be replaced, but I think its a step in the direction of outfitting M16's to take on a heavier role (though I'll agree not necessarily the answer). With that said, remember that M249's can use AR magazines (I do believe there has to be aftermarket work)-- which was what I was thinking when typing up my initial post. For reference:

I'm a sucker for Monopoly. Stratego, Ray, is one I use to play a lot; though haven't touched the game in a few years now. With a group of friends, Apples to Apples can be pretty fun (though with a bunch of strangers it can be super awkward). Other then that, I have interacted with mostly kiddie boardgames recently as my little sister is finally getting to that age where she can enjoy them (slowly).

The impact on the applications by military and LE are enormous-- and it seems like it is about time. I have to agree with mipafox in that the notion that something more then 30 rounds for semi does seem a bit unneeded (though I wouldn't mind of course-- so, don't read it that I don't think civilians should have capacity regulations!). Having the capacity to spit 100 rounds down range in a form factor that doesn't weigh a lot, and, it seems, also allows a person to carry more in a streamlined manner is a dream come true for fire teams... and any suppressive role. In the case of both 60 and 100 round magazines, I say it is "about time" that these are released for use because of the whole approach by the Pentagon to slim down the weight for troops (whether we're talking about rifles, armor, batteries, ammunition, etc). SOPs vary for different units of course, so, I can't speak for all of them, but before I got out I kept hearing from different people from different units about how they were being told to carry less and less loaded magazines (I say "loaded" magazines because a lot of these guys would keep a couple empty ones in their pack for their own peace of mind). It wasn't to carry less ammo, but to carry less weight. So, with these, a troop could carry the same amount of magazines, but essentially double their loadout without the excess weight. Great stuff. Also, on the topic of these larger capacity magazines, Magpul threw their hat into the ring awhile back-- though nothing confirmed, just a patent filed for a quad-stack magazine design, more info here.