thanks to Darwin and Tate for forwarding!

Wow, that last hack took me down for quite a while. :(

I am shutting down all my other Wordpress blogs (to make me less susceptible to attack) and looking into what else I can do.

My apologies everyone!!

It has been like a holiday here in Washington State. Seahawks stuff is everywhere!

GO HAWKS!!!

Did you guys catch this??
http://news.yahoo.com/mexico-legalizes-vigilantes-nabs-cartel-leader-001339749.html

By E. EDUARDO CASTILLO and MARK STEVENSON 3 hours ago

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico essentially legalized the country's growing "self-defense" groups Monday, while also announcing that security forces had captured one of the four top leaders of the Knights Templar drug cartel, which the vigilante groups have been fighting for the last year.

The government said it had reached an agreement with vigilante leaders to incorporate the armed civilian groups into old and largely forgotten quasi-military units called the Rural Defense Corps. Vigilante groups estimate their numbers at 20,000 men under arms.The twin announcements may help the administration of President Enrique Pena Nieto find a way out of an embarrassing situation in the western state of Michoacan, where vigilantes began rising up last February against the Knights Templar reign of terror and extortion after police and troops failed to stop the abuses.

"The self-defense forces will become institutionalized, when they are integrated into the Rural Defense Corps," the Interior Department said in a statement. Police and soldiers already largely tolerate, and in some cases even work with, the vigilantes, many of whom are armed with assault rifles that civilians are not allowed to carry.

Vigilante leaders will have to submit a list of their members to the Defense Department, and the army will apparently oversee the groups, which the government said "will be temporary." They will be allowed to keep their weapons as long as they register them with the army.

The military will give the groups "all the means necessary for communications, operations and movement," according to the agreement.

The vigilante leaders, who include farmers, ranchers and some professionals, gathered Monday to discuss the agreement, but it was not yet clear for them what it would imply. It wasn't known if the army would offer anyone salaries.

Misael Gonzalez, a leader of the self-defense force in the town of Coalcoman, said leaders had accepted the government proposal. But the nuts-and-bolts "are still not well defined," he added. "We won't start working on the mechanisms until tomorrow."

Vigilante leader Hipolito Mora said in a television interview that the agreement also allows those who qualify to join local police forces. "The majority of us want to get into the police ... I never imagined myself dressed as a policeman, but the situation is driving me to put on a uniform."Latin America has been bruised by experiences with quasi-military forces, with such tolerated or legally recognized groups being blamed for rights abuses in Guatemala and Colombia in the past.

While the cartel may be on its way out, "there shouldn't be abuses by those who come after, there shouldn't be what we would call a witch hunt; there should be reconciliation," said the Rev. Javier Cortes, part of a team of priests in the Roman Catholic diocese of Apatzingan who have publicly denounced abuses by the Knights Templar.

Before dawn on Monday, soldiers and police arrested one of the cartel's top leaders, Dionicio Loya Plancarte, alias "El Tio," or The Uncle. (The Interior Department spells his first name with an "s," but the Attorney General's Office and U.S. authorities spell it with a "c.")

National Public Safety System secretary Monte Rubido said the feared drug lord was arrested without a shot being fired. He said federal forces found Loya Plancarte in Morelia, the capital of Michoacan, "hiding in a closet" and accompanied only by 16-year-old boy.

The 58-year-old Loya Plancarte had a 30-million peso ($2.25 million) reward on his head from the Mexican government for drug, organized crime and money-laundering charges. He was considered one of the country's three dozen most-wanted drug lords in the late 2000s.

The Knights Templar ruled many parts of Michoacan with an iron fist, demanding extortion payments from businesses, farmers and workers, but the self-defense groups have gained ground against the cartel in recent months. Federal police and army troops were dispatched to bring peace to the troubled region, but the vigilantes have demanded the arrest of the cartel's major leaders before they lay down their guns.

Ramon Contreras, an activist in the vigilante movement from the town of La Ruana, which was the first to rise up against the Knights Templar, said the arrest "means a lot" to the vigilantes, but added that they won't rest until they see all the top bosses arrested.

Contreras voiced a common belief that the man who founded the cartel under the name La Familia Michoacana, Nazario Moreno, alias "El Chayo," is still alive, despite the government's statement in 2010 that he had been killed in a shootout with federal forces.

"He's still alive; there's proof he's still alive," Contreras said.

Loya Plancarte got his nickname, "The Uncle," because he is believed to be the uncle of another top Knights Templar leader, Enrique Plancarte Solis.

Loya Plancarte joined Plancarte Solis and Servando Gomez in forming the Knights Templar after the purported death of Nazario Moreno.

A local journalist from Michoacan recounted watching when Loya Plancarte led a sort of pilgrimage to a shrine erected to Nazario Moreno and had his assistants hand out 500-peso ($37) bills to people who attended.

By request, I stopped by the Tisas Booth while I was there. They make very inexpensive 1911's. I would tell you more but the staff had no interest in talking to anyone.  Literally no one.

So, the pistols seemed OK. They were a little rough but looked like they would be functional after a good break in. Reminded me of a Norinco, but something about them seemed cheap. I don't know if it was the steel or the finish or maybe the parts it just didn't feel as good as, say a RIA.

Now, don't call me jaded just yet. I was trying to be objective. In fact, another Turkish Brand Sarsilmaz just a day early left me super impressed. So much that I will be getting one down the road.

The Tisas line? Not so much. The 1911 is an intricate design. It is n expensive design compared to modern standards. It is not something that you can skimp on.

Click on pic to enlarge.

I must of missed this because I boycotted the booth of a certain American revolver company with an & in the name. I do have pictures of me walking by the booth LOL.

But, I just saw that the 4" model 66* medium frame  (think Koff or Kilo)! is returning. That is awesome! The 19 has long been a favorite of mine and I wouldn't mind a stainless. It is a nice brushed matte finish.

I would post a link or a picture, however I don't want to get sued.

* possibly a registered trademark of the company that registered it as a registered trademark.

is now available thanks to Tate!!

We got hit pretty hard by malicious hackers and our host took us offline. Sorry for being down, but we are back now!

They (the anti-gunners) claim that men with rifles can't do anything and are actually powerless despite the fact that events like the Battle of the Bulge prove them wrong. Here is a story from Mexico that shows that the modern rifleman is still critical to the modern world.

Here is a group of Mexican farmers formed 'self-defense group' (which the article calls 'vigilantes') with rifles that have retaken their town from drug lords. I love how the article calls them VIGILANTES while their occupiers, I assume, are probably just squatters?

Imagine if it was YOUR town, YOUR house, YOUR family? Still think that you are the vigilante? Some alarming things to point out....

1. Notice how the police arrested some of the vigilantes for using "assault weapons" - "...noting that they used unlawful assault rifles that gangs usually own." But, it is ok for the gangs to have?

2. "They were followed by a contingent of federal police who did not try to stop them" - but also did not help them or do anything themselves against the cartel!

3. "The government says it is making inroads in its crackdown against the cartel" -Apparently the farmers didn't believe that.

Does the word "militia" have a little more meaning now?

Here is the article: http://news.yahoo.com/federal-forces-regain-ground-troubled-michoacan-225225938.html

La Huerta (México) (AFP) - Self-defense groups made up of Mexican farmers and other local people have taken over another town that had been overrun by drug traffickers in the restive state of Michoacan.

About 80 men armed with high-powered rifles Friday moved into the village of Huerta, population of about 500, in a convoy of trucks, an AFP reporter at the scene said.

They were followed by a contingent of federal police who did not try to stop them, despite government efforts in recent days to get civilian vigilante groups in the region to stand down.

The vigilantes also captured two suspected cartel members and confiscated weapons, jackets, radios and other goods and equipment.

Federal forces in recent days have moved into Michoacan, in western Mexico, and tried to disarm the local vigilante groups and flush out the Knights Templar drug trafficking gang, which has seized control of large swathes of Michoacan.

The militias so far have stood their ground, saying they want to see drug kingpins arrested before they back down.

Mexican federal police check men in the streets of Apatzingan, Michoacan State, Mexico, on January 1 …

Civilians first took up arms in February 2013 to oust the Knights Templar from the region, saying local police were either colluding with gangs or unable to stop the group's violence, kidnapping and extortion rackets.

Officials have alleged that at least some of the civilian vigilante groups are backed by rival cartels, with critics noting that they used unlawful assault rifles that gangs usually own.

The issue is even on the radar of Washington, where Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday expressed concern, and said the US government is prepared to offer assistance if needed.

"We're concerned," Kerry told reporters shortly before meeting with his Mexican counterpart Jose Antonio Meade in the US capital.

"Afraid, no. Concerned, yes, and we will work with the government and we're prepared to try to be helpful if we can," Kerry said.

The foreign minister, meanwhile, told Mexican radio later Friday that his government has the situation under control.

"Mexico has all the elements needed to work toward and create the conditions needed for institutional governance sought by Michoacan's citizenry," Meade told Radio Formula.

Michoacan has become the most pressing security issue facing Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto, who inherited a bloody war on drugs from his predecessor in 2012 that has left more than 77,000 people dead since it was launched in 2006.

The government says it is making inroads in its crackdown against the cartel, announcing the arrest Thursday of two senior Knights Templar members.

Also on Thursday, vigilante militia members announced that they had returned to villagers several hundred acres of land that had been once been seized by the cartel.

I have seen an STI or two. But I have never seen their entire line. They have a lot to offer other than the Spartan (entry level 1911 which is most commonly seen at gun shops in my neighborhood).

I was pleasantly surprised to see that they offer (2) 10mm's! This is nice considering that a few years back they offered none.

Additionally, I was duly impressed by their 1911 line. Their variety is amazing. Build quality phenomenal. They build superb 1911s. I am a huge fan of their wide-body pistols. If I buy another 1911 (and you know I will) my next one will be an STI.

Click on pic to enlarge.

First the 10's

A few others that I liked