Front

Army Woke Bust – DeSantis Vote Fortification – SJW Cannibals – More

Paul Collier July 8, 2022

Freedomist Daily Digest – Friday, July 8th, 2022

Editor’s Choice

Top Story

US Military Going Broke After Going Woke
As the US Military continues to embrace Woketarianism, recruitment is plummeting so much that end strength estimates for the Army alone have dropped by 22,000. The Military declares gender is assigned by birth, telegraphiing sedition to patriotic families that understand how anti-American Woketarianism is. They went woke, then broke.

Features

DeSantis Cuts Off Left from Ballot Meddling

Leftist PoliticsUSA Fears Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ newly-created Election Cops. “This is why Ron DeSantis is so frightening. While Donald Trump planned to claim the election was rigged…. Ron DeSantis may simply avoid the entire issue up front by creating his own police force for elections and appoints its leader…”

LGBT-Owned Cafe Destroyed By SJW Purists

“White ownership neglected to protect their Black and trans employees. I knew there needed to be a space where you could have an amazingly made cup of coffee that’s not whitewashed.” – Sonam Parikh, co-owner of Mina’s world that was shut down by minority employees who accused the owners of gentrification.

News by Departments

US News & Politics

Uvalde Cop Could Have Shot Killer Before He Ever Entered the School
Officer had chance to fire on gunman in Uvalde, Texas, school shooting, new report says
From www.cbc.ca

Say Goodbye to the Guidestones
Georgia Guidestones: ‘America’s Stonehenge’ demolished after blast
From www.bbc.co.uk

Cringe DNC Ads Want Floridians to Leave for Blue Hate Speech States
Democrats Taunt Ron DeSantis by Inviting Floridians to Their States
From www.businessinsider.com

Arizona Gov. Ducey endorses Taylor Robson over Trump-backed candidate in GOP gubernatorial primary
From www.washingtonpost.com

Workers Want Their Employers to Stop Donating to Anti-Abortion Politicians. Here’s Why They Probably Won’t
From observer.com

Culture and Society

Cancel Culture Fails to Stop Chic-fil-A from Being King….Again

Chic-fil-A remains a thorn in the side of the power of cancel culture, having defied multiple efforts to be ended for refusing to endorse homosexuality. For the 8^th year in a row, the number one target for cancellation is still voted the number one favorite fast-food restaurant in America.

Abortionist Terrorists Continue Assault on Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers

Gangs of masked abortion terrorists roam Portland Washington to vandalize Pro-Life organizations. From California to Pennsylvania, abortion terrorists are increasing these assaults, with authorities denying abortion terrorism even exists. Over the July 4^th weekend, the attacks continued, with the latest victim coming from Florida at the Heartbeat of Miami Center.

A Pro-Gun AZ House Primary Ad is Breaking the Left
AZ GOP Candidate Drops Amazing Ad on Second Amendment That Has Dems Fuming
From redstate.com

Absorbing the Shock of the Energy Transition by Owen Gaffney
From www.project-syndicate.org

Nevada Dem Senator Quietly Honors Drag Queen for Working With Children
From freebeacon.com

Celebrities Saying Only Women Are Women. Is Trans Movement Fading?
From www.dailysignal.com

College ends swim test requirement over concerns students of color could not easily pass it
From www.thecollegefix.com

Geopolitical

The End of Boris
Johnson resigns, but will remain British PM until new leader chosen
From japantoday.com

Russian House Speaker Threatens to ‘Take Back’ Alaska
From www.themoscowtimes.com

Russian army taking pause in Ukraine to regroup for renewed assault, analysts predict
From globalnews.ca

Finance

Russia Looking for West-Free Sea-Routes to China
Russian firms launch new sea routes to ensure trade with China, other countries
From www.globaltimes.cn

China’s Commerce Ministry Urges US Not to Add New Trade Measures
From www.bloomberg.com

Activists say Amazon misled shareholders about warehouse working conditions
From www.seattletimes.com

Defense

UK, US Intel Warn Markets of CCP Sabotage

The FBI and MI5 warned businesses of CCP sabotage in Western markets. They said, in part, “if you have, or are trying for, a presence in the Chinese market, you’ll be subject to more attention than you might think. It’s been described as ‘the biggest wealth transfer in human history.’”

Iran Missile Shipment to Yemen Stopped by British Navy

UK Warship Seizes Advanced Iranian Missiles Bound for Yemen
From time.com

Central Asia rushes into armed drone race as regional arms transfers brew
From globalvoices.org

Niger: the west’s bulwark against jihadis and Russian influence in Africa
From www.ft.com

Sci-Tech

Meningitis-Causing Giant Snails Invade Florida
Florida Officials Alarmed by Invasion of Giant Snails That Can Cause Meningitis
From futurism.com

Computer component could use as little energy as physically possible
From www.newscientist.com

Breakthrough could point the way towards new quantum technology
From www.sciencedaily.com

Mathematical calculations show that quantum communication across interstellar space should be possible : Futurology
From www.reddit.com

The self-calibrated photonic-chip – an interchange for optical data superhighways
From www.nanowerk.com

People

A funeral home owner sold organs and body parts without permission for years and returned fake cremations where customers received concrete mix or swapped ashes, prosecutors say
From www.msn.com

Childless Tax: Why It’s Such An Offensive Suggestion
From www.glamourmagazine.co.uk

Welcome to the World Situation Report For July 3rd, 2022

Michael Cessna July 3, 2022

The goal of this column is to present news from around the world that is not often – if ever – covered by more mainstream entities, using local sources wherever possible, but occasionally using news aggregators not used, again, by the mainstream media. Also, please note that we do use links to Wikipedia; while Wikipedia is well-known as a largely-useless site for any kind of serious research, it does serve as a launch-pad for further inquiry, in addition to being generally free of malicious ads. As with anything from Wikipedia, always verify their sources before making any conclusions based on their pages.

This column will cover the preceding week of news.

To make it easier for readers to follow story source links: anytime you see a bracketed number marked in green – [1] – those are the source links relating to that story.

North America

The security news in North America was dominated this week by a huge wave of telephoned-in bomb threats, mostly against college campuses, being made across the nation [1]-[8], with a wave of threats across the breadth of North Carolina. [9]-[13] Elsewhere, similar threats were received by an abortion clinic in Victorville, CA [14], and by the Public Defender’s office in Miami-Dade County, FL. [15] In Rochester, MN, a woman picked up a device she believed to be an possible explosive device she had found in a park, and transported to the local police station, a highly dangerous and irresponsible action which we commented on in last week’s World Situation Report. [16] In Germantown, TN, meanwhile, police safely recovered the second of two IED’s, after responding to one of the devices detonating, although no damage was reported. [17]

Finally, in Sussex County, NJ, Maria Sue Bell, 54, of Hopatcong, NJ, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court on a charge of one count of concealing attempts to provide material support to designated foreign terrorist organizations. Bell is accused of aiding in the support to fighters based in Syria who were members Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (JFS) (formerly calling themselves the “Al Nusra Front”) and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Bell faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. [18]

[Source 1] – [Source 2] – [Source 3] – [Source 4] – [Source 5] – [Source 6] – [Source 7] – [Source 8] – [Source 9] – [Source 10] – [Source 11] – [Source 12] – [Source 13] – [Source 14] – [Source 15] – [Source 16] – [Source 17] – [Source 18]

Africa

By comparison to North America, Africa this week was comparatively quiet, given the pace of violent activities in recent weeks. Thankfully, the rest of the world – the Russo-Ukrainian War being the obvious exception – also remained largely quiet this week, to the point that we will be ending this Report on that continent.

Beginning in Burkina Faso, terror attacks killed a dozen people – all believed to be civilians – in two attacks in the central part of the country. [1][2] Meanwhile, Islamist insurgents severely damaged a critical bridge linking the towns of Kaya (just to the northwest of the nation’s capital of Ouagadougou) and Dori, approximately 120miles/193km to the northwest. [3][4] This appears to be a fresh offensive by jihadists to isolate the capital from the northern part of the country, as there are reports of jihadi’s effectively blockading towns along the contested roadway. The central government currently controls only an estimated 60 percent of the country. Burkina Faso, one of the poorest nations in the world, has been battling a festering Islamist insurgency since 2015, primarily against movements linked to the Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State groups. More than 2,000 people have been killed and 1.8 million displaced.

[Source 1] – [Source 2] – [Source 3] – [Source 4]

In Nigeria, Islamist jihadi’s reportedly kidnapped a number of medical personnel while murdering numerous civilians in the neighboring states of Kaduna (which also saw the reported kidnapping of a police officer) and Zamfara, in the country’s northwest, while some 13 people were reported killed by terrorists on a mining site in Niger State (not to be confused with the nation of the same name), and reportedly kidnapped two Chinese nationals working on the site. The kidnapping of medical personnel is significant, indicating that repeated operations by Nigerian police, military and civilian militia’s are exacting a heavy toll on the terrorist groups. [1]-[4]

In the southeast, attacks killed at least three people, and resulted in several homes being burned down. [5] In the country’s northwest, meanwhile, Islamic terror groups have begun attacking the national power distribution infrastructure, resulting in increasing strain on the country’s power grid. [6]

[Source 1] – [Source 2] – [Source 3] – [Source 4] – [Source 5] – [Source 6]

Across the continent, Ethiopian officials are blaming the deaths of some 338 people – mostly ethnic Amhara’s – in the Oromia Region on the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) rebel group. The group has denied any involvement in the killings. The Oromo conflict has been waxing and waning in intensity since 1973, which has been aggravated by the ongoing Tigray War in the northern part of the country.

[Source]

**The Freedomist — Keeping Watch, So You Don’t Have To**

The Infantry Automatic Rifle – The Great Leap Backwards

Michael Cessna July 2, 2022

Begun in July of 2005, the program that produced the IAR (Infantry Automatic Rifle) met or exceeded all of the United States Marine Corps’ design requirements for a “lightweight automatic rifle“, with a Heckler & Koch variant of the HK416 being selected as the winner in 2009, receiving the type classification of “M27“, underlining a desired return to a magazine-fed automatic rifle.

The only problem is that the concept was badly flawed from the beginning.

*An American soldier displaying a M1918 Browning automatic rifle at the Ordnance Department at Chaumont, 9 November 1918.*

The IAR attempts to hearken back to the heady, halcyon days of the Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR). Weighing in at 19lbs/8.61kg, the .30-06 BAR – fielded in 1918 – earned a reputation for reliability on the battlefields of World War 2 and Korea, lasting in combat around the world well into the 1960’s. But, with its heavy weight and small ammunition capacity (feeding only from a 20-round magazine), it was recognized that something else was needed.

In 1963, the M14E2/A1 was selected to replace the BAR, in complement to the newly-adopted (in 1957) M14 rifle. However, serious problems still existed, as the new weapon still relied on a twenty-round magazine, and was much harder to control in fully automatic fire, due to its lighter weight.

*A camouflaged infantryman armed with an M60 machine gun. US Dept. of Defense*

As a stopgap, the M60 machine gun was introduced to progressively lower unit levels, both during and after the Vietnam War. A belt-fed weapon firing from an open bolt, the M60 was a dedicated machine gun, rather than a simple automatic rifle. In addition, while it weighed more than twice what an M14 weighed, it still weighed a bit less than the BAR; at the same time, it could be very temperamental in the field, but was capable of delivering a large volume of accurate automatic fire, assisted by a quick-change barrel, both being crucial features which the BAR and the M14 lacked.

*A US Marine fires his M-249 Squad Automatic Weapon during Exercise Forest Light 2007. USMC photo.*

This “stopgap” solution persisted into the early 1980’s, when first the US Army, shortly followed by the US Marine Corps, adopted the ‘Minimi‘ light machine gun, designed by the Belgian firm Fabrique Nationale (which had built legendary weapon designer John Browning’s last handgun design, the HP-35 ‘Hi Power’) as the “M249 SAW” (Squad Automatic Weapon).

Firing the same 5.56x45mm cartridge as the M16-series rifles, the belt-fed, quick-change barrel, open-bolt SAW was not the lightest of ‘light’ machine guns, weighing in at 22lbs/10.5kg when loaded with a 200-round assault pack, and it had its share of teething troubles in its early days, but the worst of these issues were solved fairly quickly. A notable feature of the SAW was its ability to use 30-round M16 magazines (loaded from the lower-left side of the receiver) in the event of the gunner firing all of his belted ammunition in combat (although this was a problematic feature).

Ultimately, the troops accepted the weight as a necessary trade-off for the ability to sustain an effective rate of fire of 100 rounds per minute (rpm) for extended periods, or 200 rpm for short periods. Still, the desire was for the lightest weight possible. While a laudable goal, all weapons involve trade-offs in design; no weapon can be “all things to all men”. In 1999, with an aging population of M249’s, the Marine Corps began to develop the requirements and criteria for the SAW’s replacement.

It is at this point, that something went drastically wrong.

*American Hotchkiss Gun in action. Western Front, World War 1. US War Dept.*

For some reason, despite generations of combat data from war zones around the world, that belt-fed weapons at the lower infantry levels were what won battles, the Marine Corps determined to chart a course to develop a “BAR Lite”.

In effect, the HK416/M27 IAR is an attempt to deploy a “5.56mm BAR” at the fire team level. Where the M249 gunner would carry three 200-round assault packs into combat, the IAR gunner has to carry at least twenty-two 30-round M16 magazines to provide the same the same level of fire onto a target — however, this obscures the facts that a) only 30 rounds at a time can be fired; b) that the effective sustained rate of fire is 30-06 rpm, vs. 100-200 for the SAW; and, c) that the barrel of the M27 is fixed to the weapon and is impossible to change outside of an armorer’s shop. Even using H&K’s proprietary gas piston system instead of the direct gas impingement operating system of the conventional M16-series, the heat of extended firing will quickly be a critical issue in use, directly impacting squad fire and maneuver.

The IAR’s one saving grace – after its lighter weight of eight pounds – is its supposed accuracy. This concept completely misses the point of a fully automatic squad weapon: “accuracy” in automatic weapons is measured by how tight the cone-of-fire and the beaten-zone areas are. Automatic weapons are inherently inaccurate; they are “area of effect” weapons, intended to fire large amounts of ammunition into relatively small areas much faster than conventional rifles. Even the Marine Corps’ own Combat Developments and Integration office understood the loss of suppression fire that this represents.

*An M16A1, belonging to Indonesia’s Brigade Mobil.*

More prosaically, the IAR is essentially a “product-improved” M16A1 rifle, shoehorned into a role it cannot perform.

Although reports from Afghanistan indicate positive reception from Marines in the field, the reports of its positive reception read like forced advertising brochures. As well, despite the Marine Corps announcing in December of 2017 that it planned to equip all infantry Marines at the squad level with the M27, by as early as 2018, the Marine Corps had already tacitly recognized the deficiencies of a 30-round magazine weapon in the suppression role. On top of this, lays the problem of the M27’s inability to use the widely-sold “PMAG 30 GEN M2“, made by Magpul. This is a serious concern, given the need to reduce the overall logistical footprint (especially in high-intensity operations), not being able to use a widely distributed and low-cost magazine is a real handicap.

*IMI Negev machinegun, in use by the Israel Defense Forces*

If the M27 IAR is as accurate and as much of a quantum shift as it is portrayed to be, then the real question is begged: ‘Why is the US Army not making any attempt, whatsoever, to adopt this weapon?’ This is not an idle question. The US Army has always received the lion’s share of the military budget for land warfare systems, going back to the founding of the United States. While there are certainly valid complaints to be leveled at the M249 (and this author is right there with the criticisms, having carried and used one frequently), the argument was never to ditch the belt-fed weapon, to field a better belt-fed weapon.

While observations have been made that accuracy must be the paramount concern in a counter-insurgency environment, the fact is that the world is changing rapidly, and the possibility of full-on, “main-force” combat with a major power – such as the People’s Republic of China and especially given the results of the ongoing Russian invasion of the Ukraine – is becoming much more likely than it was even ten years ago. One of the foundational precepts of the post-Vietnam era was that the United States could not afford to be caught at the outset of a war with a military geared to fight the wrong war.

Unfortunately, this is a very expensive proposition in dollars, it is far more expensive in dead troops, lost battles, and wounded and/or disabled veterans. The problems with the M27 IAR, however, go much deeper, as it is not a question of cost: the replacement cost to the US Army of a single M249 is currently (FY2011) $4,512, while the cost of a single M27 is (FY2012) $2,896 — the savings simply are simply not significant enough to warrant the loss of mass-target suppression fire at the squad level.

The real problem is a perfect storm of a flawed design concept, and a civilian leadership bereft of functional knowledge of warfare at the ‘muddy boot’ level.

Heckler & Koch cannot be blamed for this – they produced precisely the design that was requested, and did it well. There is no doubt that the M27 IAR, like the HK416 that it derives from, is a fine weapon.

But it is not a a replacement for a belt-fed machine gun.

**“To the Last Man”, 1921, Georgios Prokopiou**

Has The Time Come For A United States Foreign Legion?

Michael Cessna June 17, 2022

Foreign legions have existed for centuries, but in their generally-accepted form, have only really existed since roughly the end of the 1700’s. Unlike condottieri of Renaissance Italy, “foreign legions” are not, strictly speaking, “mercenaries“, in that they are not usually specialists hired for one-time contract work, who remain separate from a nation’s actual armed fores, but are organized, uniformed and disciplined units of non-citizen foreigners, organized into separate units by the recruiting nation.

*French Foreign Legionnaire firing machine gun*

Most famously used by France, one of the harsh truths of foreign legions is that a nation usually finds them necessary only when their own populations are unwilling or unable to serve their nation effectively in the military. There is growing evidence that the United States of America may have reached a point where a foreign legion is a necessity.

*Baron Steuben drilling American troops at Valley Forge in 1778.*

The United States has always had foreign volunteers in the ranks of its military forces: whether as mercenaries or starry-eyed volunteers in the American War of Independence, through the German immigrants who fought for the Union in the American Civil War, to individuals from nations suffering under the rule of hostile foreign powers (this author served with several such volunteers in the 1980’s), non-citizen foreigners are no oddity in US military service. However, times are changing, and it may become necessary to rethink how the US military operates.

*Draft-age Americans being counseled by Mark Satin (far left) at the Anti-Draft Programme office on Spadina Avenue in Toronto, August 1967.*

Since the end of the Draft in 1973, the United States has had an “all-volunteer force” (or, “AVF”). Better-educated, on average, than the mass of draftees that it replaced, the AVF is also smaller in total numbers, even as the relative budget for the military in general has grown exponentially. The reasons for this are many, but boil down primarily to a desire for more remotely-operated weapons to keep US troops out of harms way as far as possible — as the military learned the hard way in Vietnam, dead American troops coming back in flag-draped coffins tend to cause a media frenzy, that paints even successful military actions in a poor light. One result of this, has been an increasingly smaller number of American citizens willing to volunteer to serve, because competition from the private sector is intense.

Quietly, in the background, a slowly worsening situation is developing, a situation that severely threatens US national security.

As recent articles have pointed out, American youth – now, as many as 70% – are unfit for military service. The situation is bad enough, that the military is seriously considering bringing in civilian specialists for direct commissioning (now termed “lateral entry”), because they cannot find enough suitable recruits. The reasons are many, but boil down to five core problems, either singly or in combination.

*US Army Sgt. Ryan Moldovan throws a practice hand grenade at Fort Jackson, S.C., Sept. 7, 2016.*

First, there is a noticeable epidemic of obesity in the United States. The US is not alone in this, as the problem does exist is several other developed countries, but the cold facts are that too many young people who would otherwise be excellent prospects for recruiters are simply too physically unfit to pass even the most basic physical fitness course. Recruiters try very hard to get these prospects into shape, but the results often end in failure. This situation has grown to the point where the US Army has actually dropped its requirement to – of all things – demonstrate proficiency in throwing hand grenades to 25 meters, one of the most basic duties of the infantry.

*USMC Sgt. Jennifer Wilbur, Sgt. Jennifer Wilbur, poses for a photo at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, May 1, 2020.*

Second, reductions in military budgets, mated to extreme costs for high-dollar, high-tech weapons programs have forced reductions in overall troops numbers, to a point not seen since the early 1940’s. This has led to arbitrary, petty, toxic and damaging practices that directly impact both troop morale and reenlistment figures; critically, this is also hemorrhaging combat-seasoned talent from the various services.

Third, is the widening percentage of US youths who cannot pass even highly “flexible” criminal background checks. Debates about various civil/criminal policies aside, a critical factor in not finding suitable recruits is the fact that many youths get into real trouble before they can be enlisted.

Fourth, is a problem that has existed since the end of the Draft: civilian sector competition. Bluntly, without a Draft providing a steady stream of troops, the various armed services have to compete with civilian companies for talent…and with the aforementioned budget reductions, the military services find it extremely difficult to compete with civilian companies, given the requirements of military service: most introductory-level civilian jobs do not involve you getting shot at. Additionally, since 2002, the military has had to compete in earnest with the rise of “private military contractor” (PMC) companies — where this was rarely a factor affecting both enlistment and reenlistment in previous decades, the surge in use of PMC’s – including in high-threat combat areas – has sparked investment in those companies that aggressively recruit talent from the military, talent (usually either special operations troops, or aircraft technicians) that has been expensively trained, and that the military desperately wants to keep, but cannot, for parsimony.

Last, is a crushing sense of ennui – bordering on existential nihilism – in a disturbingly high percentage of US youth. This serious emotional crisis breeds a distrust, if not outright disgust, with anything concerning governments, militaries and higher ideals in general. And again, there are numerous reasons for this, none of which can be resolved by military establishments.

You can only work with what you are given.

Yet, “spear carrying” troops are still needed. As military professionals are all too painfully aware, no matter how high-tech your military machine, you still need some kid with a rifle and a bayonet to stand on a patch of dirt, and dare anyone to come and kick them off. The recent casualty rates, coupled to the abject failure of Russia’s “BTG” (Battalion Tactical Group) in the Russo-Ukrainian War have highlighted the fact that mass mobilization and mass armies are definitely not relics of a bygone era – when you need them, and do not possess the structure to generate the numbers, you are in serious trouble.

Despite all its political, societal and economic woes, the United States still has immigrants flocking to its colors every year, so many, that artificial limits to legal immigration remain in force. These immigrants leave their homes, precisely because they still believe in what used to be called the “American Dream“…and many are more than willing to fight for that dream. Those artificial limits, however, only encourage emigres with “desirable” skills, and a desire to “fix bayonets and charge” is not usually on that list.

So — should the United States begin an active program to recruit a “Foreign Legion”? Not as individual recruits, as is done today, but as separately organized units, officered by Americans, but whose ‘other ranks’ are universally non-citizen, in the same manner as the French Foreign Legion?

On the plus side, such units are not staffed with too many “American Boys and Girls“, and consequently will not produce as visceral a negative reaction in either the press or the electorate when they soak casualties on the battlefield.

On the down side, forming a Foreign Legion is essentially an admission of defeat. To paraphrase the words of author Robert A. Heinlein, if a citizenry will not volunteer to fight for its country, does that country deserve to continue to exist?

More darkly, on the third hand, if the country does deserve to continue, is it time to rethink exactly what “citizenship” means for the United States in the 21st Century?

The United States of America is an ongoing “noble experiment“, an experiment that many still believe in, that many believe is still worth fighting and dying for. There is a decisive break-point in this argument, however, and that break-point of decision is rapidly approaching.

Amazon Looks to Courts to Kill Union

Ivo Fysic June 14, 2022

After Amazon’s Staten Island Workers Unionized, the mega Corp is seeking to stop the union in an NLRB Court.

ALU President Chris Smalls, “[They] survived the pandemic and defeated a trillion-dollar company just to see Amazon use their highly-paid lawyers to try to silence the voices of thousands of workers.”