The name alone would strike terror into the heart of even the most battle-hardened German soldier: The Night Witches. Named for the sound of their rudimentary, plywood biplanes as they cruised slowly overhead at low altitude dropping bombs, the Night Witches were the all-volunteer, all-female air raid squad that the Soviets deployed against the Third Reich.
The spooky “whoosh” as they circled overhead reminded the German troops of women sweeping. The association with a broom led to them calling these night-time raiders “Nachthexen” – Night Witches. A term of derision for the Nazis, a badge of honor for the women of the Soviet Union’s all-female bomb squad.
The Nazi Regime in Berlin so hated the Night Witches that anyone who could down one of their crop dusters turned bomber was awarded the prestigious Iron Cross. But who were these brave women who battled against the Nazi Luftwaffe in the freezing cold of the Eastern Front?
The spooky “whoosh” as they circled overhead reminded the German troops of women sweeping. The association with a broom led to them calling these night-time raiders “Nachthexen” – Night Witches. A term of derision for the Nazis, a badge of honor for the women of the Soviet Union’s all-female bomb squad.
The Nazi Regime in Berlin so hated the Night Witches that anyone who could down one of their crop dusters turned bomber was awarded the prestigious Iron Cross. But who were these brave women who battled against the Nazi Luftwaffe in the freezing cold of the Eastern Front?
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NFA Registration is Gone? Not Quite
Lots of noise concerning the ATF guidance concerning some NFA items. An important note—ATF’s registration of NFA firearms and silencers is a policy that any future administration can reverse. The court order in Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF only covers the plaintiffs, their members, and their customers. The Attorney General chose to apply the same policy to everyone else also. There are now two layers: ATF’s policy, which covers everyone, and the court order, which covers you if you are a member of a plaintiff organization or group. ATF can change a policy; however, changing a court order is somewhat more challenging. I personally joined Gun Owners of America--one of the other plaintiff organizations.
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US Law Shield Advisory on the NFA Changes
While we're on the topic: a very detailed discussion of the ATF policy and the recent changes. Opens to a .pdf document.
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First 5 Rounds in Your Magazine: Why They Matter Most
Every round in your magazine matters. But the first five matter more than the rest, and most shooters have never thought about why. The top of your magazine is where the most stress, the most wear, and the most potential for failure concentrate. Here's what's happening in those first five positions and why it affects your ammunition's reliability.
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A fascinating revolver which was specially made for S&W company officers Col. Douglas B. Wesson and Victor Wesson to demonstrate their new 357 Magnum cartridge, the development of which Douglas Wesson was intimately involved in. Richard Wesson describes their use as demonstration guns along with his father’s big game hunting trips he successfully undertook with this revolver. The revolver shows light use and remains in fine condition retaining about 90% original blue with mild high edge wear and scattered handling marks. The revolver is sighted with factory adjustable target rear sight with u-notch blade and Call gold bead front sight.
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Hackers Stalked Me by Hijacking a Smartwatch for Kids
On a rainy New York morning, a WIRED reporter strapped a plastic child’s smartwatch to his wrist and headed to work. As he approached a subway station to commute to WIRED’s office, he texted Vangelis Stykas, the Greek security researcher who had shipped him the watch via Amazon, to let him know that he was going into the station and might lose cell signal.
“I know,” Stykas wrote back.
In fact, Stykas had been monitoring the reporter’s location via the watch since the moment he left his apartment. The watch’s GPS feature, intended to let a parent track their child, was malfunctioning, but the wearable device was still picking up and transmitting to a faraway server identifiers from every nearby Wi-Fi network, which allowed Stykas to continue to pinpoint the reporter’s exact location as he continued to walk.
“I know,” Stykas wrote back.
In fact, Stykas had been monitoring the reporter’s location via the watch since the moment he left his apartment. The watch’s GPS feature, intended to let a parent track their child, was malfunctioning, but the wearable device was still picking up and transmitting to a faraway server identifiers from every nearby Wi-Fi network, which allowed Stykas to continue to pinpoint the reporter’s exact location as he continued to walk.
When the reporter arrived at WIRED’s Manhattan headquarters, Stykas hijacked a watch feature that allowed him to silently take a photo from its camera, capturing the moment when the reporter stepped into an elevator and later a picture of the reporter at his desk. The hacker then used a different feature to pick up audio from the watch’s microphone, transmitting it to another researcher.
According to public reporting attributed to the Houston Police Department, a 31-year-old man arrived at a Houston hospital on September 5, 2026 seeking medical assistance while experiencing a suicidal crisis. He was placed in a secluded area of the emergency department.
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According to public reporting attributed to the Houston Police Department, a 31-year-old man arrived at a Houston hospital on September 5, 2026 seeking medical assistance while experiencing a suicidal crisis. He was placed in a secluded area of the emergency department.
Early accounts indicate that security personnel attempted verbal communication and subsequently used electronic control weapons to separate the man from the knife. The man reportedly went to the ground following the less-lethal intervention but later got back up and reached for the knife again. HPD’s subsequent written release reported that the armed man then “advanced towards the guards.” A hospital security officer fired multiple rounds, striking him. Medical personnel immediately provided treatment, but doctors later pronounced the man dead.
The investigation is ongoing, and important facts are still unknown. That limitation matters. Critical incidents are rarely understood completely in their first hours, and initial reporting should never be confused with a finished investigation. Still, the incident provides an opportunity to examine something larger than this event: the interaction of crisis, emotion, behavior, de-escalation, and human performance in an environment where circumstances may require security professionals (and private citizens) to immediately make life-or-death decisions.
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My apologies for the formatting differences--blogger.com is not cooperating.
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