Olympic weightlifter Holley Mangold Joins ‘The Biggest Loser’ | OlympicTalk

U.S. Olympic weightlifter Holley Mangold on ‘The Biggest Loser’ | OlympicTalk

Super Heavyweight Holley Mangold

Well, this is unexpected!

Holley Mangold‘s road to the Rio Olympics will go through “The Biggest Loser.” 

Mangold, who placed 10th in the super heavyweight division at the London Games, said the NBC weight-loss show reached out to her. Now, she’s a contestant on the series’ 15th season beginning Oct. 8.

Ms Mangold is a super heavyweight Olympic weightlifter.  According to the USA Weightlifting website, female super heavies start at 165 lb and go up from there.  There is no upper limit to how much they can weigh.  Frankly, I think 165 lb is too low a starting point for a weight class called "super heavyweight".  Ms Mangold, however, weighed in at 346 lb at the 2012 Olympics and took 10th in her weight class.

53 Kg class Weightlifter, Cortney Batchelor

Olympic weightlifting doesn't just require strength.  It requires power, speed, coordination, flexibility, agility, balance and accuracy.  Of the ten components of fitness, the only two that Olympic weightlifters typically lack are endurance and stamina, and only because their sport does not require them.  As the photo above demonstrates, super heavy weights tend to carry around a lot of body fat as well.  Their smaller counterparts do not.

I've always wondered if all that extra body fat hurts the superheavies.  Last year, Aimee and I watched a documentary called "Strong!" about another American superheavy, Rachel Haworth.



In the documentary, Ms Haworth claimed that the weight added by body fat helped, because "mass moves mass".

Ms Mangold, however, thinks it hurt her.

“I feel like that was my limiting factor the last run for the Olympics is I was too big for the super heavyweight,” said Mangold... “I needed to be smaller so I could train harder.” 

Mangold said being on the show will help her get back to the Olympics in Rio, that she can be better at a smaller weight. 

“I think I finally decided now I don’t have to wait to retire before I get in shape,” she said. “I always had this thought that if I lost weight, I wouldn’t be as good of a weightlifter anymore. I plan on going to Rio. I was very nervous about it. I think, after ‘Biggest Loser’ reached out to me, I thought this is a good idea. I can do this and be the great weightlifter I want to be.”

I shouldn't have been surprised that "The Biggest Loser" reached out to Ms Mangold.  Back in 2012, in an interview with Wired Magazine, she stated that...

As soon as I retire I will be doing cross-fit and I’m sure I’ll go crazy with health stuff.

...and  "Biggest Loser" trainer, Bob Harper, is big into CrossFit.  On top of that, Ms Mangold stopped by the 2012 CrossFit Games for a weightlifting demo.  I'd be willing to bet it was Bob Harper's idea that she participate.

Whatever the case may be, I wish her the best of luck in both her health and Olympic weightlifting goals.

Here's a video interview Ms Mangold did with the show's producers.

Obama-Backed Terrorists Attempt Religious Extermination in Maaloula, Syria

This is why we need to stay out of Syria.  If we support Assad, we support a mass-murdering dictator and Iran, but by supporting the rebels, we're supporting this.

Maaloula is a special place. It has been a safe haven for Christians for 2,000 years - until now. It was a place of refuge so secure in its rugged mountain isolation that a dialect of the language of Christ, Aramaic, is still spoken here. But not today. 

Its Christian community of 2,000 has fled. In the tight alleyways and streets that wind up the Maaloula's mountainside their language has been replaced by the Arabic of two bitter enemies: rebels from three Islamist groups and the soldiers of President Bashar al-Assad.
Some 70,000 tourists a year used to come here from all over the Middle East, Europe and America to marvel at the Christianity carved into its rock. But the "Welcome to Maaloula" sign as I drove in seemed almost laughable. 

There was hardly time to notice the white statue of Christ the Redeemer on the hillside before we were fired on, bullets aimed at our van, blowing our tyre and holing the chassis. We screeched to a halt and scrambled clear.

Lee Stranahan, one of the few American reporters in the area, has details of the attack.

For weeks in early September, the world got sketchy reports on the back and forth fighting in Maaloula, as combined Syrian rebel forces consisting of U.S. backed ‘Free Syria Army’ fighters battled next to al-Qaeda backed al-Nusra troops against Syrian goverment forces for control of the town. 

The Maalourla survivors, speaking out for the first time, said that the Free Syria Army troops were as one with the al-Nusra warriors. They described in heartbreakng detail how Maaloula’s townspeople were terrorized and some killed for being Christian. 

The attack began with a suicide bomber attacking the local checkpoint. One survivor said that armed Muslims were inside her house almost immediately, and held a machine gun to her husband’s head. The Islamists bragged about smashing a statue of Mary and taunted the family for their Christianity. The survivor broke down in tears describing her fear that her daughter would be raped by the men and that the family would be killed. 

When the Maaloula witnesses was told that U.S Sec. of State John Kerry had referred to the FSA forces as ‘moderate’ in Senate testimony, she closed her eyes, shook her head both and forth and said “No no no no no.” 

She said that she didn’t trust the press after seeing their reporting on the situation in Maaloula, which deemphasized the Islamist elements of the attack.

More from Mr Stranahan:



For more info, visit Mr Stranahan's site and read this report from Ed Morrissey. 

General Dynamics Long-Range Machine Gun | Kit Up!

GD Shows Off Long-Range Machine Gun | Kit Up!

GD’s Ordnance and Tactical Systems division was showing off the 23-pound LWMMG at Modern Day Marine 2013, touting it as the needed bridge between the M240 and the M2 .50 caliber machine guns. 

“We wanted a round that could provide capabilities to eliminate the gap between 7.62mm and .50 cal,” a GD official said. “We needed a round that could provide accurate, effective fire on target beyond 1,500 meters.” 

The LWMMG fires a 300 grain .338 caliber bullet and is capable of effective fire out to 1,700 meters, compared to the M240 round which is effective out to 1,100 meters. 

“It puts a lot of energy on the target; it doesn’t compare to the .50 cal which is a 650 grain bullet, but we are not trying to replace the .50 cal,” the GD official said. The LWMMG isn’t being marketed as a replacement for the M240 either even though it’s about 4 pounds lighter. The heavier, .338NM ammo weighs about 9 pounds for every 100-round box. One hundred rounds of 7.62mm weights about seven pounds. 

“You can mount this anywhere an M240 will mount,” he said. “You can put effective fire on targets at extended ranges, and that is why we chose that round; we built the weapon around the round.”

After 12 years of war, our Enemies in the AfPak theater know our weapons' capabilities pretty well.  Consequently, they prefer to initiate an ambush with an IED, then open fire with machine guns, RPGs and recoilless rifles (when available) from elevated positions out of range of our weapons.

Our .50 cal machine guns can reach them, but a dismounted patrol can't carry a .50 cal.  And a mounted patrol can't dismount the .50 cal from a truck and maneuver it to a more advantageous position if the enemy's fighting positions are too far up on the high ground (which they usually are).

This machine gun weighs roughly the same as an M-240, but with much greater range.  Carrying an M-240B in Afghan terrain is no joke, but our servicemen do it.  And this guns range is long enough that the enemy wouldn't be able to out-range them.

My first thought when I read the Kit Up headline was - why not .338 Lapua?  How does the .338 Norma compare to it?  I don't know the answer to those questions, but here's this from the article...

The plan was to build the LWMMG in the same round as U.S. Special Operations Command’s new Precision Sniper Rifle, which Remington is now building in .338 Lapua magnum, GD officials said. While the company is pleased with the performance of the shorter .338NM cartridge, it would not be difficult to convert it to .338 Lapua, GD officials maintain.

Check out these videos.

Feds Steal $35K From Small Grocer's Bank Account Despite Finding "No Violations" To Justify the Grab - Hit & Run : Reason.com

Feds Steal $35K From Small Grocer's Bank Account Despite Finding "No Violations" To Justify the Grab - Hit & Run : Reason.com

the feds sent the Dehkos a letter saying that “no violations [of banking laws] were identified.” 

And then, nine months later, the IRS emptied the Dehkos' bank acount of $35,000 without warning. 

In the Dehkos' case, the IRS used civil asset forfeiture, which requires no criminal action or proof of guilt on the part of a property owner to seize that property...

This, ladies and gentlemen, is legalized theft.  The 4th Amendment of the Constitution reads...

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

How can the Feds get away with such a clear violation of the 4th Amendment?

technically, it's a legal action against the property itself. 

I see.  So the feds are punishing the property, not the people who own it.  Makes perfect sense.

Not surprisingly, it's a hugely lucrative practice for government agencies and a hugely controversial one for everybody else. 

I bet.

But the use of asset forfeiture, both civil and criminal, soared at the federal level under the current administration, growing from $500 million in 2003, to $1.8 billion in 2011. 

Surprise!



If this doesn't piss you off, I don't know what will, because if this can happen to the Dehkos, it can happen to any of us.

Armed Brit Citizen Saved 100 Lives in Kenya Terrorist Attack | Mail Online

British hero of the mall massacre: Ex Royal Marine with a handgun saved 100 lives as terrorists ran amok | Mail Online

"Liberals" claim no one with a concealed weapon ever saved a life in a mass murder attack.  Wanna bet?

The former soldier is said to have returned to the building on a dozen occasions, despite intense gunfire. 

A friend in Nairobi said: ‘What he did was so heroic. He was having coffee with friends when it happened. 

‘He went back in 12 times and saved 100 people. Imagine going back in when you knew what was going on inside.’ 

Sources said the soldier was in the Royal Marine and now lives in Kenyan. He cannot be named for security reasons. 

The British military regularly train and operate out of Kenya, and have been involved in tracking UK citizens involved with hardline Islamists in Somalia and Yemen. 

Former members work with both the UK and Kenyan governments and security firms across East Africa.

I don't know about British Marines, but American Jar Heads don't like being called Soldiers.  Just a hint. Anyway, you can see a pistol in his waist band.  Hopefully we'll get more details.

Eye Witness to Westgate Mall Terrorist Attack - CNN.com

Kenyan police vow to 'finish and punish' Westgate Mall terrorists - CNN.com


Unbelievable.  Be sure to read the whole thing.

The Most Powerful PHOTOS From Saturday's Westgate Attack - Nairobi Wire

The Most Powerful PHOTOS From Saturday's Westgate Attack - Nairobi Wire

I haven't read about a resolution to this terrorist attack yet.  Two things stood out to me in these photos.  The first, probably because I'm a father.  The following photos look to me like unrelated people helping children who somehow became separated from their parents.

Note how the little little girls are of different ages, but are dressed in similar shirts.  That may not mean anything, but parents often dress siblings in matching clothes.  We do.  As a father of seven, I can't imagine how I'd keep track of all my kids and get them all out safely in a situation like this.  It's heartening to see what looks like strangers helping children get out of an unimaginably dangerous, chaotic situation safely.  Again, I could be wrong.  Those people could be friends or relatives, but that's how it looks to me.

As a Soldier with multiple combat deployments, who's helped train - and fought alongside - foreign troops, and a gun enthusiast, the following one stood out to me.

First, I'm happy to see the muzzle and trigger discipline displayed here.  Second, I'm jealous of their FN SCAR Hs. 

God speed, men.