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Imagine a record label where the heads of preeminent brass (classical), jazz, and blues labels collaborated with Beezwax Records, LLC to issue one release per year in their respective genres. Imagine a record label whose A&R vetting was guided in part by a select group of visually impaired, eclectic audiophiles tilting toward the same. Imagine a record label that limits its market exclusively to a set of prequalified subscribers who eagerly await their next Beezwax Record, and when they get it it has their name on it. Imagine a record label that dovetails seamlessly with the manufacturers of physical...

U.S. defense leaders fawned over Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday during his visit to the Pentagon’s National Defense University (NDU), as he pitched for more U.S. taxpayer aid to Ukraine. NDU President Air Force Lt. Gen. Michael Todd Plehn, praised Zelensky, calling it “indeed a high honor” to welcome Zelensky to the university. “It is fitting that today’s address takes place at NDU, where we prepare the next cohort of national security leaders to understand and overcome current and future national security challenges in defense of our freedom and way of life,” he said.

“Illegal weapons have no place in California,” said Bonta. “The settlement we have reached with Walmart makes crystal clear that online retailers are responsible for what they are allowing to be offered for sale in our state.” A Walmart representative provided a statement, saying “We are committed to being the most trusted retailer. While we believe our policies and procedures comply with California law and admit no liability or wrongdoing, we believe this agreement is in the best interest of all parties.” NOW: CA Attorney General @AGRobBonta @RobBonta announces that @Walmart has agreed to pay $500,000 via a settlement. It...

Germany and Nigeria are set to venture into an agreement to pave way for the return of centuries-old sculptures known as the Benin Bronzes that were taken from Africa in the 19th century and displayed in German museums and elsewhere.Governments and museums in Europe and North America have increasingly sought to resolve ownership disputes over objects looted during colonial times. A British colonial expedition stole the bas-relief Bronzes along with many other treasures in 1897 from the royal palace of the Kingdom of Benin, in what's now southern Nigeria. The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, an authority that oversees many of...

The Benin Bronzes Consist of Thousands of Metal Sculptures and Plaques Which Adorned the Royal Palace of the Kingdom of Benin, Presently Located in Edo State, Nigeria...Although the collection is commonly referred to as the Benin Bronzes, the pieces are predominantly crafted from brass of varying compositions using the lost-wax casting method, a process by which a duplicate sculpture is cast from an original sculpture.Edo artisans used manillas, meaning bracelet, as a metal source for making the Benin Bronzes. Manillas were also used as decorative objects and currency across parts of Western Africa.In a new study published in the journal,...

...When on December 20th German foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock headed a large delegation to Abuja, she handed over a second small batch of the 1,130 pieces her country's five leading museums gifted to Nigeria in 2022... Little did she (one hopes) or the German public suspect what Buhari and the NCMM would do, just three months later. Gifting the restitutions to the Oba, who is bound to no enforceable curatorial standards, is controversial in the West; not least because of the campaign by black Americans who descend from slaves, and who demand that the artworks stay safe in the museums...

Following the Afghanistan evacuation, I was imprisoned for publicly challenging military leadership. Nearly a year later, Americans still don’t appreciate the dire implications emanating from foundational issues in the U.S. military. During critical moments when military leaders should be standing for American values, we instead find impressively dressed old men nodding “yes.” When that unconditional obedience leads to disaster – as it did in Afghanistan and Benghazi – military leaders focus on managing political narratives to save their own careers. In doing so, they miss timely assessments of failure, and inadvertently squander the sacrifices of selfless young servicemembers.Some blame the...

Soaring demand for guns and ammunition comes from a range of demographic groups Just two companies, Vista Outdoor and Olin Corp, meet the bulk of America’s demand for ammunition, and chiefly through two long-established brands. Remington, part of Vista, was founded in 1816, and Winchester Ammunition, owned by Olin Corp, started in 1866. Because of soaring demand for bullets, both firms are enjoying the sort of heady growth that only new businesses usually enjoy. Three times a day, queues of pick-up trucks appear outside Remington’s ammunition plant on the outskirts of Little Rock, Arkansas, to bear away the fruits of...

A man Donald Trump introduced as retired Lt. Col. Louis Dorfman presented the Republican presidential nominee with his Purple Heart before a rally Tuesday in Virginia. “I said to him, ‘Is that like the real one, or is that a copy?” Mr. Trump recalled in his speech at a high school in Ashburn. He said the veteran assured him that the medal was real, saying, “I have such confidence in you.” “Man, that’s like big stuff,” Mr. Trump said. “I always wanted to get the Purple Heart — this was much easier. But I’ll tell you, it was such an...

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Tuesday that he has ordered a 20 percent cut in the number of top brass and senior civilians at the Pentagon by 2019, the latest attempt to shrink the military bureaucracy after years of heady growth. Hagel’s directive could force the Pentagon and military command staffs to shed an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 jobs. That’s a tiny percentage of the Defense Department’s 2.1 million active-duty troops and civilian employees, but analysts said it would be a symbolically important trimming of the upper branches of the bureaucracy, which has proved to be resistant to past

A memorandum issued by Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton B. Carter on expended military ammunition brass sale and scrap guidelines cited in yesterday’s Gun Rights Examiner column has raised questions about who he is, and if he harbors a personal political agenda in favor of restricting civilian market supplies to the extent that he can. That Carter is an elite establishment player is unquestionable. Earning degrees from Yale, being a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, going on to being “chair of the International and Global Affairs faculty at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government,” and holding various White House...

In a follow-up to Friday’s report on two military installations destroying expended ammunition brass for scrap metal sales rather than making it available to the commercial reload market, the Fort McCoy public affairs office today sent Gun Rights Examiner a copy of a June 23, 2011 memorandum from Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton B. Carter on “Department of Defense (DoD) Implementing Guidance for the Commercial Sale of Expended Small Arms Cartridge Cases (ESACC).” “The attached guidance reconciles [the Ike Skelton National Defense Authorization Act] with other applicable provisions, including … the Department of Defense Appropriations Act … which restricted funds...

Shortages resulting from an unprecedented demand for ammunition by federal agencies and the civilian market are causing some police departments to look at cutting back training, KCENTV reported Thursday. "Depending on what happens with the supply shortage, we may have to start cutting back somewhere," said Sgt. Patrick Swanton of the Waco Police department told reporter Amanda Kenney. One source the civilian market particularly looks at is for cartridge casings, and in a time of high demand, having them available for reloading ammunition becomes a significant interest. One of the prime suppliers for expended brass is the military, so their...

On August 23, 2011 the FBI arrested Imam Abu Taubah aka Marcus Dwayne Robertson. The charge was possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon, Case Number: 6:11-mj-1380 Attached to Imam Abu Robertson’s case is a Notice of Intent To Use Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Information (FISA). The U.S. Government’s intention to use its FISA powers signals probable cause to charge Imam “Taubah” Robertson “the target of such search is a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power”. The facts presented in these filed charges leads this reporter to suspect an element of foreign intrigue may be...

Bless these brave soldiers for standing up for our country and what it's actually all about,  regardless of threats emanating from the failing, flailing Obama Administration.  _____________________________ h/t Mitt Romney for President

Ty Andros, of Traderview and TedBits, is mad as hell, and he's not gonna take it anymore. The corruption of the government has reached epidemic proportions. The economy is tanking way more and faster than virtually anyone is aware of. The political situation is a complete disaster. There's little, if any, hope Washington is going to get its act together, certainly not within our lifetimes! So where does that leave you? You must invest what assets you have left into things that will survive the current economic system and its impending collapse. If you're thinking precious metals, that's a great...

BRUSSELS -A NATO general sharply rejected French criticism Tuesday of the operation in Libya, saying the North Atlantic military alliance is performing well and protecting civilians effectively. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe had said NATO should be doing more to take out strongman Moammar Gadhafi's heavy weaponry that is targeting civilians in Libya. Juppe said NATO's actions were "not enough" and insisted the alliance should be firing on the weapons being used by Gadhafi's forces to target civilians in the rebel-held city of Misrata. Juppe spoke on France-Info radio the day after Libyan rebels rejected a cease-fire proposal by African...

·11250 Waples Mill Road ·   Fairfax, Virginia 22030    ·800-392-8683 Rep. Brad Ellsworth Introduces Amendment to Address Re-sell of Once-Fired Small Arms Cartridge Cases Wednesday, May 19, 2010 Fairfax, Va. – Today, by a unanimous voice vote, an NRA-backed amendment was added to the House Armed Services Committee’s National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 5136) that will ensure serviceable and once-fired small arms cartridge cases are available for commercial sale. The Ellsworth amendment, offered by U.S. Rep. Brad Ellsworth (D-Ind.), compels military bases to sell small arms ammunition and ammunition components intact – meaning not demilitarized for scrap – as long as these...

·11250 Waples Mill Road ·   Fairfax, Virginia 22030    ·800-392-8683   Questions Arise Over Army Bases’ Disposition of Surplus Cartridge Cases   Thursday, April 01, 2010   Last week, NRA-ILA learned that quantities of once-fired small arms cartridge cases recovered from firing ranges on military bases, which by federal law the Department of Defense is prohibited from demilitarizing or destroying, were being sold for scrap.A governing law in this matter, developed with input from NRA-ILA, is a rider to the 2010 Department of Defense Appropriations Act. It stipulates that “None of the funds available to the Department of Defense may be used to...

Courtesy Oleg Volk, A Human Right We talked on Friday about "a fatal end run on brass," Montana Shooting Sports Association president Gary Marbut's revelation of deals between defense contractor ATK/Alliant Techsystems and military installation commanders that seemingly ran counter to an earlier understanding. Marbut has written a follow-up piece. His conclusion? ATK will need to do more than simply post a statement announcing that it now fully supports a congressional ban enacted last year to forbid military brass destruction. Click here to read the rest, including two steps Marbut recommends for ATK to reassure the public of its intent....