Saturday, May 14, 2011

Further proof that somebody with a knife and a bad attitude

is VERY bad news. Whole story at the link; I'm going to link the video here, be warned that it's very nasty indeed


As he says, This was a triumph and failure of mindset.

A little more on Dogs of War

I noted this piece a while back; there's a Part II. And a link to this story:
One night last February a Taliban suicide bomber tried to infiltrate the army barracks where 50 soldiers were sleeping. But the bomber was taken completely by surprise when the three dogs attacked him, holding him back by biting his legs, finally forcing him to detonate the 24lbs of C4 explosives he had strapped to his body. The attacker never made it to the threshold.

However, the blast did damage enough. As one soldier recounts the explosion was big enough that the shrapnel alone caved in a wall. Five soldiers were injured and two of the dogs were seriously wounded. Sasha, the third dog, sustained wounds that were too severe and she had to be put down. The soldiers nursed Rufus and Target back to health.
A semi-personal note: during his first Iraq tour, son mentioned a couple of the dogs that'd been adopted, and one of the things he said was that they very quickly learned "If they're wearing ACUs, they're one of us; if they're not..." A local working on the base saw one of the dogs watching him and threw a rock at it; by the time they dragged the dog off him, it was time for a serious trip to the hospital. So think of what three pissed-off dogs protecting their turf and pack were doing to that bastard.

It seems I missed the CSGV demonstrating just what assholes

they are. And I'm sure they feel very brave, and noble. Or just happy that their vindictive streak is showing. I'll borrow some of the words of Thirdpower:
They have learned my name. They have stripped me of my magical powers to control the blogosphere. Oh woe is me.

In other words, Ladd Everitt has gotten so desperate after having his @ss handed to him over and over and the recognition of their own insignificance in national affairs that he 'outed' me on the CSGV's FB page and Twitter.
CSGV
For those who've been harassed by gun rights activist "Thirdpower" (@), his real name is Roy Kubicek.
40 minutes ago
You know. Nevermind that I have my name published here on DOOT so people can order patches and have it publicly linked to my FB page for several years now, I apparently have been 'hiding out'.
Do read the rest; what they consider one of his sinister activities is amazing; I wonder if they soiled their panties over it?

A bit from Linoge, as well:
The CSGV has well and truly become the dedicated troll of the anti-rights organizations, and this new disgraceful "tactic" of theirs will invariably backfire in their bigoted faces. We will not be oppressed, we will not be silenced, and we will not tolerate our rights being denied to us by force of law… no amount of threatening, bullying, stalking, or "outing" will change that.

Oh, and remind me to thank Chris Peck and all of his anti-rights buddies at the Commercial Appeal for assisting cyberstalkers like Ladd Everitt with their privacy invading database of the overwhelmingly law-abiding handgun carry permit holders here in Tennessee. Really appreciate that, guys!

Aren't these gun bigots some truly sorry people?

The idiot Indiana judge Steven H. David and Mitch Daniels

David is a former chief defense counsel for detainees at Guantanamo Bay who praised the majority opinion in Boumediene v. Bush with this trite quote: “The most important thing that Boumediene held is something that I always thought was obvious … that in America, there are no law-free zones.” Or maybe he could explain why the official Steven David bio released by his office announced the fact that David is a member of the American Judicature Society, the leading institutional proponent of the Missouri Plan, and beneficiary of more than $1 million in contributions from George Soros’s Open Society Institute since 2000.
...
So, yes, Mr. David, apparently an enemy of the right to resist the minions of the state when they attempt to illegally enter your home, was appointed by Mitch Daniels, a much-rumored Republican candidate for the Presidency of the United States in 2012.
...

The single most important judicial issue in Indiana is the ongoing debate over the state’s method for appointing appellate judges. It’s not much of a debate, actually, thanks in part to Daniels. Indiana uses a form of the Missouri Plan, the commission-based method for choosing judges that was designed by Progressive Era lawyers to put “experts” in charge of judicial selection. The “experts,” of course, are lawyers. When the issue was in front of Daniels, he took the worst possible approach. In 2009, overwhelming majorities of the Indiana General Assembly (88-3 in the House, 35-15 in the Senate) approved legislation to kill that method in parts of Indiana. Governor Daniels vetoed it. …

Then, when Indiana had a supreme court vacancy to fill, he failed to say a single word about the state’s flawed judicial-selection process and dutifully appointed a nominee sent to him by the state’s nominating commission.

So, when considering Governor Daniels in your choices for the nomination, ask yourself: Is this the man you want appointing Justices to the Supreme Court of the United States?
I agree: this by itself ought to disqualify Daniels from the Stupid Party even considering him for the White House.

Friday, May 13, 2011

One last thing- this on globular warmering- before bed

Somebody pointed to this piece on a debate between Warmering True Believers and Skeptics. I'm just going to borrow one part:
Concluding the science sessions was one of the most senior figures in the Climate Industry, John Mitchell of the Met Office. Mitchell was review editor of Chapter 5 of the IPCC's most recent report (AR4) but hasn't been able to meet FOIA requests, despite the IPCC's pledge to keep all written expert comments on record for five years. "For my own part, I have not kept any working papers. There is no requirement to do so, given the extensive documentation already available from IPCC," Mitchell has claimed. This, like Climategate, was not mentioned.
...
"People underestimate the power of models. Observational evidence is not very useful," he said. "Our approach is not entirely emprical."
My, my, my... Since when does somebody else having records of THEIR stuff mean a scientist(apparently have to use the word loosely with these people) doesn't need to keep his OWN records of HIS work? And that last part is just, well, let's say 'revealing'. And boils down to "Our models give us the outcome we want, so we don't pay attention to that observing stuff. I mean, that's so old-fashioned, and anyway it didn't show what we wanted to find."

Ref hitting the range today,

besides the usual I(finally) remembered to print out and take along a target from pistol-training.com; in this case, 'dot torture'. First read about this site and this particular drill at Tam's; some good stuff there.

It's an interesting drill. I'd have done better if I'd done that BEFORE all the other shooting; as was, about halfway through my eyes were having trouble shifting focus from target to front sight, and it showed.

The Indiana Supreme Court says "Oh, that Constitution thingie

only counts when we like it."
Overturning a common law dating back to the English Magna Carta of 1215, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Hoosiers have no right to resist unlawful police entry into their homes.

In a 3-2 decision, Justice Steven David writing for the court said if a police officer wants to enter a home for any reason or no reason at all, a homeowner cannot do anything to block the officer’s entry.

“We believe … a right to resist an unlawful police entry into a home is against public policy and is incompatible with modern Fourth Amendment jurisprudence,” David said. “We also find that allowing resistance unnecessarily escalates the level of violence and therefore the risk of injuries to all parties involved without preventing the arrest.”

David said a person arrested following an unlawful entry by police still can be released on bail and has plenty of opportunities to protest the illegal entry through the court system.
To the Indiana Supremes majority: fuck you. And your mother. You miserable little pigs.
“We believe … a right to resist an unlawful police entry into a home is against public policy and is incompatible with modern Fourth Amendment jurisprudence,” my ass; a police officer illegally entering my home is just like any other lawbreaker, period. These bastards have declared the police to be above the law because 'it's good for public policy'. Only if you like the peasants defenseless and subdued.

From the decision: In the 1920s, legal scholarship began criticizing the right as valuing individual liberty over physical security of the officers. Translation: "We want the police to be able to act in any way they choose without having to worry about that individual liberty or 'a man's home is his castle' thing; it offends us that they can't do this." Got news for you assholes: this country was in large part FOUNDED on that individual liberty idea; and we're not giving it up because some asshole lawyers don't like it.

From a comment at Tam's : Indiana: Less free than Midevel England.

My, my, some things are getting interesting

What with Obama basically saying "War Powers Act? Limit on my waging war? I'll keep us involved in Libya as long as I want to!", and Texas looking to make TSA subject to arrest for some of their molestations.

Richard the Turd Daley, besides the security detail(taxpayer supplied, of course) he's demanding, a $180k pension and he’s expected to earn up to $50,000 for a speech, AND he can cash in his $1.1 million campaign fund.


The City University of New York decided to fly the Palistinian flag at commencement. The excuse:“The City College flies all of the flags that are flown at the United Nations,” the Vice President for Communications Mary Lou Edmondson told me. “It has nothing to do with foreign policy.”
Slight problem with that:
...the United Nations doesn’t fly the Palestinian flag. It only flies the flags of its 192 member states.
So they tried to wiggle out of the hole:Update: CUNY’s City College VP of communications Mary Lou Edmondson emails this response: “I regret that I misspoke about the flags flown at the United Nations. At this time, in this 10th anniversary year of 9/11, we are focused on prominently displaying ten American flags in silent commemoration of the thousands of men and women who lost their lives.”
Translation: "You people are making too much noise for us to get away with this!"


One way to deal with a rapist who's also a loudmouth. Slight problem with damage to the furnishings, though.


Trentadue and the FBI
had some interesting days in court, which brought out things like
In a sworn affidavit dated May 21, 2001, Ojeda outlined how the FBI handled information they did not want to see brought up in court:

The FBI also kept “zero files,” which were reports containing information that the FBI would not generally want disclosed to the defense and which were kept separate from a specific case file. These files were kept internally within the Bureau and typically were not turned over to the prosecution or the defense. Files would be assigned numbers bases on the type of offense or investigation involved, for example, a bank robbery would be assigned a particular number. A letter A after that number would mean highest importance. A zero after that number would mean that the report should go into the “zero” file.

which led to
Not only did Judge Waddoups deny the FBI’s Motion for Summary Judgment, Trentadue said, but he gave the Bureau until June 30 to do the following:

1. Confirm that FBI Information Director David Hardy told the truth in declarations he submitted to the court;

2. Describe the S-Drive and why it was not searched;

3. Explain why Evidence Control Units at Oklahoma City Field Office, FBI Headquarters and FBI Crime Lab were not searched; and

4. Describe how burdensome it would be to search OKBOMB case file entries for two weeks after the bombing for missing tapes?

Once Judge Waddoups gets the requested information/answers from the FBI, Trentadue said, he will revisit the motion to order the FBI to conduct additional searches.


So why IS the story of the 'Whack The Terrorist' raid so screwed up? More thoughts on the matter from Mudville.


And I went to the range today. More on that later.

When you can watch the shockwave approach


Possibly NSFW language at the end

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Now THERE'S some advice:

Trust No One
Doubt it’s true? Go to any brand-specific forum and look around. Complaints abound. Sure, there are still some who drink the kool-aid, and even some who want to force the kool-aid down other people’s throats. But you’ll hear about broken rails and springs at Glock Talk, improperly assembled guns or poor finishes at SIGForum, or mag drops and feeding problems at MP-pistol.com. Not every day, but read about the problems people have experienced over the past few months and you’ll see that no brand is immune to mistakes.

Remember that sign at gun shows,

“I asked my broker what to invest in; he said ammo and canned goods.” ?

Remember when we actually thought it was a joke?


Found at Uncle

Sen. Reid is so full of crap

he should be standing in fields to fertilize the crops. "The founders wanted the government to tell business what state they have to go to!" my ass.

Oh, Mr. Omar bin Laden:

fuck you. In a civilized culture your father being a mass-murdering terrorist would shame your family; I suggest you consider that.

If the ninja-suiters don't have more self-control

and trigger discipline than this...
The Pima County Regional SWAT team fired 71 shots in seven seconds at a Tucson man they say pointed a gun at officers serving a search warrant at his home.
Being a standard-issue citizen with some slight familiarity with firearms, that sounds pretty bad; then it gets worse:
Jose Guerena, 26, a former Marine who served in Iraq twice, was holding an AR-15 rifle when he was killed, but he never fired a shot, the Sheriff's Department said Monday after initially saying he had fired on officers during last week's raid.
...
Three other homes within a quarter of a mile from Guerena's house, were served search warrants related to the investigation that morning. The addresses and the names of people who live in the other homes have not been made public.
I don't know about you, but that combination of things causes several suspicions to pop into mind.

Vanessa Guerena says she heard noise outside their home about 9 a.m. Thursday and woke her husband who had just gone to bed after working a 12-hour shift at the Asarco Mine, she said. There were no sirens or shouts of "police," she said.

Guerena told his wife and son to hide inside a closet and he grabbed the AR-15 rifle, his wife said.

The department says SWAT members were clear when identifying themselves while entering the home.

"Tucson is notorious for home invasions and we didn't want to look like that," said Lt. Michael O'Connor of the Pima County Sheriff's Department. "We went lights and sirens and we absolutely did not do a 'no-knock' warrant."

So they say. They also claimed he fired first. Maybe just confusion, maybe a no-knock they don't have the integrity to own up to. I'll let you read the whole thing, but I will point to this:
The family's 5-year-old son was at school that morning and deputies say they thought Guerena's wife and his other child would also be gone when they entered the home.
The thought. Ok, say you thought he'd be home alone; what were you after that demanded putting on the ninja suits and kicking in doors?


I realize as I type this that my attitude toward a lot of LE has really gone downhill; it wasn't that long ago that I'd have figured they made the raid this way for good reason, but I don't have much confidence in that anymore, I've read of too many wrong-address raids, too many that should not have been a 'dynamic entry' action in the first place.

Couple of weeks back Ayoob had that post on the possibility of a Mumbai-type attack in the US, and some people got a bit heated in the comments whacking on LE; his responses here and here. I do think he either misses or glosses over a couple of things:
1. I think few have a real problem with LE having a rifle in the car; they have a problem with average patrol officers in some places having a select-fire weapon. Especially when they lecture us that the commoners can't be trusted to own such.
2. Most agencies have indeed had a 'military-type' organization with sergeants and such; that isn't the gripe, it's LE acting like military units in their normal activities, arming up and acting like troops instead of LE officers.
3. Yeah, good cops do indeed have a problem with bad ones. But the bad ones generally couldn't get away with being bad as long as they do if so many of the good(at least better) ones didn't either turn a blind eye or actively protect them. It's been a big problem for many years.

He mentions the miserable excuse for a lawman in Chicago caught on tape beating on a female bartender. That guy had a past record that should have gotten him thrown off the force long before that incident, and even with that crap on tape it took a lot to get him canned. And I read far too many "She wasn't hurt that bad, he shouldn't have faced that serious a charge"-type crap from cops. Doesn't matter how badly she was hurt, or that she had whatever in her background: what he did was inexcusable and yet an awful lot of people with badges were making excuses for him. That kind of thing really screws with being able to trust the police.

I'll pass along something: one day at my old job I wound up riding to lunch in a LE unit with four officers, none of whom had less than 15 years on the job, I think all but one 20 or more; when you sit and listen to a group like that talking about the bad attitude the new officers have, it makes an impression.

4. This touches on the kick-in-the-doors actions: how many cases have been found of them not bothering to make sure they had the right address? Where they shoot the family yorkie or something for barking at them? Where the public is then informed- if you put it bluntly- "Yes, they fucked up, but they were following department guidelines so screw you; we're not going to punish them for fucking up." That does NOT cause people to look on you as Officer Friendly. Especially when it turns out the mess was over something that would've been much better handled by somebody watching the back while somebody in a proper PD uniform knocks on the door and says "We have a warrant to search."

Some of the comments Ayoob got were downright nasty, some were pointing out something like what I've noted above; dismissing them all equally doesn't help the case.


Speaking of shame and disgusting bastards, combined with either idiot politicians or politicians demonstrating their contempt for LE officers, what level of either one is required to invite this jerk to the White House during the same week that lawmen from across the nation, including Jones, make their annual trek to Washington to honor their fallen comrades at the National Law Enforcement Memorial. ?

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

So this is one of the people around Obama and Clinton

Somebody wondered who this Audrey Tomason is
since she's in that picture of the situation room, a few feet from Obama; they found some things out. Like her thesis on how to improve the world:
According to Ms Tomason’s “Apocalypse Equation” the “sustainable population” of our world can only be 1.5 billion human beings, as compared to the United Nations estimate of 7 billion we will reach on October 31st of this year, and the even worse figure of 10 billion estimated by 2100.
...
Ms Tomason states in her thesis that any population suffering an economic collapse and reverting to “Basic Needs” will be “ungovernable” and pose “tremendous risks” to the state leading to “wholesale breakdown of law and order.”

Ms Tomason further argues in her “Apocalypse Equation” thesis that since the collapse of civilization as we know it is “inevitable,” world leaders should consider the possibility of “mass genocide” to reduce our world’s population to a more “sustainable level commensurate with our Earth’s resources.”

The chilling genocidal scenario envisioned by Ms Tomason begins with a “limited nuclear conflict” targeted at major population centers, but designed to limit the fallout of radiation. Next would be the release of toxic chemical and biological agents she suggests could be blamed on “terrorist entities” to be followed by forced mass migration of populations to more “sustainable living environments.”

Ms Tomason envisions these “sustainable living environments” as being large population centers with mass transit systems where no personal vehicles would be allowed and the rural areas would be completely depopulated except for government run agricultural “systems.”
I'd be a lot more doubtful of this if it weren't for the fact that Cass Sunstein is one of Obamas' advisers. Like William Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn. Remember this from their plans?


So she fits right in with some of The Lightworkers' other advisers.

Prior to the initiation of these apocalyptic events Ms Tomason argues for the establishment of government run and protected “concentration camps” where “persons of worth” can be protected while the masses of their fellow citizens die by the millions and billions. Those deemed “persons of worth” would include scientists, doctors, technical specialist, etc.
And, of course, she has the proper dislike for western nations:
And the most critical fact facing our world today, as Ms Tomason’s thesis points out, is that the “oil boom” of the last century is not only over, the fight by nation-states to preserve our Earth’s dwindling supplies for themselves threatens global war on a scale never before seen in human history, and which, in fact, have already begun as the energy starved West continues to launch new wars to protect themselves from economic collapse.

...liberals own a get-out-of-jail-free card

that is license to update the Birth of a Nation if it advances the liberal agenda. Think Stu is an outlier? Need we mention what the Sly-mer said about Condoleeza Rice?
This is in reference to the both bigoted and stupid comment from one Stu Levitan, who thinks that gang-bangers will get carry permits. And that they're all black. And don't commit crimes like illegally carrying guns.
I think it would be fun to have 2 or 3 dangerous-looking black guys testify next week in support of concealed carry. The more gang-banger the better. Let the committee know EXACTLY who they'll be letting carry guns.
Yep. Because everybody knows that gang members don't carry guns now because it's illegal. Kind of like murde- ah, never mind that.

He really wishes you would.

I realize Disney Syndrome is rampant, but I'd still think

anyone going camping in someplace like Utah would know there are dangerous things out there?
Judge Dale Kimball on Tuesday ruled that the federal government was 65 percent responsible for Samuel's death, the state government 25 percent responsible, and the boy's family 10 percent responsible.

He awarded the family $1.95 million in damages.

His ruling said US Forest Service law enforcement officer Carolyn Gosse had been notified about an earlier bear attack but failed to follow regulations and inform Ives' family about the potential threat.

Added: just found further info, apparently the 10% is because the kid may have taken food into his tent. But this
During the trial, government lawyers argued that posted signs adequately warned the family of the potential dangers of bears.
is bullshit: there's a BIG difference between generic "Bears can hurt you" and "There was a bear attack here earlier."

If you know someone going to the U of Missouri,

take a look at some of what their money is paying for.
Mr. Pecinovsky, who has worked in the past for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), informed us about legislation that is pending in the state legislature. He said: “Here in Missouri, the Republicans who control the house and the senate are trying to push through a number of pieces of legislation that would really, really devastate Missourians.” He then informed us that State Senator Jane Cunningham (R) was “crazy.” Pecinovsky also described the dues requirements and initiation procedures of the Communist Party, and gave out his phone number several times, offering to stay as long as anyone wanted to talk to him about joining.

Prof. Ancel acknowledged that joining the Communist Party could cost students their future security clearances, make them less desirable to future employers, and potentially put them on federal watch lists. Still, she and Prof, Giljum invited this organization into class to recruit. Call me crazy, but I thought universities and professors were supposed to help students become more appealing to employers, not hook them up with questionable organizations that by their own admission could cost students their future livelihood.

In the same vein, the professors frequently used the class to mock and cajole Republicans and conservative policies. In one lecture, Prof. Ancel put up as part of the class notes a cartoon showing Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi saying, “I don’t believe in collective bargaining either.” She went on to compare Wisconsin’s Republican governor, Scott Walker, to a repressive authoritarian seeking to emulate dictators and fascists in their “repression of labor.” She then put up another cartoon called “Republican Workplace Bill of Rights,” which showed a number of employees gagged, blindfolded, and handcuffed. In another lecture, she blamed conservatives for what she perceived as media bias against unions, and stated: “The Republican party has done a great job of reducing class to a bunch of tastes, and demonizing liberals because their taste is different from ‘rednecks.’”

Yeah, everything in those videos was 'taken out of context' and 'edited', right.

Monday, May 09, 2011

When Father of Waters says "Get off my lawn!",

he means it.

The lottery

and why I don't participate

I don't think the first counts as politics, and even if it does

it pisses me off so bad I can't pass on it:
Last Thursday, one of our reporters, Kate Harrison, was following volunteers cleaning up debris in the heavily damaged Apison area when she was confronted by three veteran, high-ranking public officials who ordered her to stop taking photographs. The officials — Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond, Chattanooga Police Chief Bobby Dodd and Hamilton County’s director of emergency services, Don Allen — clearly should have known that Harrison’s work was constitutionally protected. That they could occupy such high positions and not know, or care about, or respect the nation’s First Amendment rights boggles the mind.

Harrison also was commanded by emergency services spokeswoman Amy Maxwell not to publish any of the photographs she had taken, and later was threatened with arrest. (We published one of Harrison’s photos.)
...
In a similar incident on the same day, another member of our news staff — photographer Allison Carter — was threatened with arrest by a Catoosa County deputy sheriff if she did not cease photographing tornado damage at a Food Lion shopping center, and if she did not delete the pictures she had taken from her camera.
Now, the only really proper response would be "Fuck you; you want the lawsuit, arrest me." Put more politely, "I will not, and if you arrest me I'll see your names plastered in public for it at every possible occasion. THEN I'll sue you on top of that."


The other thing I wanted to say something about before I collapse is this piece from Tam on the "...we HAVE to..." idea:
Few years back I told someone that the idea of flat legalizing drugs is something I have strong sympathy for IF there were a couple of provisos, one of them being
If you screw yourself up on your favorite drug/s and can't take care of yourself, that's too bad but you do not get any help from the state; some church or private charity or your family wants to help you, that's wonderful but the public purse(i.e. Other Peoples' Money) will not be picked to take care of you.

Moskos seems to be one of those "I want people helped, but not by me giving my own money/time; I want the government to take over and spend OPM to do it. Because if you don't want to help like I FEEEEEL you should the government can take your money by force and use it" clowns.


One last thing, in the 'What the BLEEP?' category:
As the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives continues investigating the explosion at Aberdeen Proving Ground last Saturday that killed contractor Dr. Nanaj Bhamare, a friend of the worker has told Patch that Bhamare's body will be flown back to India for burial.
Ok so far, though I wonder why Aberdeen couldn't call on the EffingBI or Army EOD to take care of the investigation; then you get to this:
“They also requested our assistance due to the complexity of the explosives, fire scene,” Weber said of APG. “In addition to the explosion, then subsequent fire, the scene contained chem, bio-hazards as well as bloodborne pathogens, which ATF has better capabilities to handle.”
A: What the HELL was the guy working on/with?
B: when the hell did BATFE become expert on chemical and biological hazards?

Because I'm both sick of politics and very tired, (added info)

I present another episode of 'Survival Tips from IITF'.

In this case, fire starting. Something that'll store well, light easily and burn long enough to get damp small kindling started. Get yourself the following items:
Cotton balls(COTTON, no synthetics)
Petroleum jelly
Take a cotton ball. Get a good blob of jelly in a finger, smoosh it into the cotton ball and work it in. Get another ball and repeat.

That's it. Especially after it's sat a while, just touch a match to it and it's off. Matter of fact, know those fire starters you scrape with something sharp and they throw a shower of sparks? Those will ignite them, too. They burn smoky, but long enough to get small kindling started. And you can put a bunch of them in a baggie to store in the pack/toolbox/whatever. Few years back daughter was going on a campout with some friends and made up a few to take along, just in case. It rained- a lot- that weekend, and she said the only way they could get a fire going was with these.

I'll throw in that a while back I bought a package of those round cotton makeup-remover pads at the dollar store and tried this with them; wiped the jelly into the fuzzy side and folded it in half. Opened up, the sparker lit one right off.

Yes, I know some of you already know this, but SOMEBODY out there doesn't.

Added: Thanks to Bob, a very good idea: fire straws