The yakuza, Japan’s notorious organized crime syndicates, are on the decline. While they still wield influence, their numbers have dwindled to around 53,000 members last year from a height of more than 180,000 in the 1960s, according to a recent report in the French newspaper Les Echos that cited data from Japan’s National Police Agency….
Future of Warfare: Metal Foam Armor
For thousands of years, armor was something people wore. Gunpowder, which could launch projectiles straight through metal garments, changed that, and with the invention of the tank in World War I, armor become something people rode inside. The invention of Kevlar in 1965 brought back wearable armor, and then armor-piercing bullets were designed to punch…
The Surveillance State: NSA Wants to Share Citizen Data Mines with other Fed’s
Civil liberties and government transparency groups are rallying to oppose a new plan that would allow the National Security Agency (NSA) to share more of the information that it collects about people’s communications and activity on the Internet with other federal agencies. On Thursday, 33 advocacy groups signed on to a letter insisting the changes…
Crusader Corner: Hamas Performing “Exorcisms” on Children to Ensure They are Loyal to Islam
Islam is NOT a religion. It is a “Doctrine of Devils” (1 Timothy 4:1). Anything that promotes murder and rape and the physical and psychological abuse of innocent children has nothing to do with God. “Let GOD Arise, let his ENEMIES be scattered. Let them that also Hate Him flee before him.” -Pslams 68:1…
Modern Crime: Illegal Online Arms Trade in North Africa Skyrocketing
An online marketplace for illicit weapons is thriving in the Middle East and North Africa, according to a study released today that found sales of heavy machine guns, rocket and grenade launchers, and anti-aircraft guns on private Facebook groups in Libya. During his 40-year reign, colonel Muammar Gaddafi stockpiled an estimated $30 billion worth of weapons. At the time,…
Brush-Up On Your History: Eight Classic American Propaganda Campaigns
Many groups have historically used propaganda to generate support for various campaigns — America is no exception. Even as far back as the Revolutionary War, the U.S. government, military, and private groups have used varying forms of propaganda to drum up support for certain political causes. Some of these methods — including posters, comics, and…
Know Your Weapons: The History of the SIONICS Suppressor
In the early 1960s, former U.S. Office of Strategic Services operative Mitchell WerBell III founded a company dedicated to the development of cheap and efficient sound-suppressors for automatic weapons. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, WerBell had joined the U.S. Army, serving briefly as a second lieutenant with the Signal Corps before volunteering to…
Profiles in Courage: USMC Wildcat Ace Downs 7 Japanese Bombers on his First Combat Patrol During WWII
During WWII, Marine 1st Lt. James E. Swett attacked 15 enemy bombers, destroying 7, on his first combat patrol. On April 7, 1943, Medal of Honor recipient and Marine fighter ace James E. Swett shot down 7 Japanese bombers, taking out four all on his own after he became separated from his wingmen. He was…
Ancient History: The Unknown Battle of 1250 B.C.
A battlefield of 3,250 years ago in Germany is yielding remains of wounded warriors, wooden clubs, spear points, flint and bronze arrowheads and bronze knives and swords. The gruesome scene, frozen in time by peat, is unlike anything else from the Bronze Age in Northern Europe, where, researchers thought, large-scale warfare didn’t begin until later….