Americans are frantically buying military gear before the election

Bloomberg  October 23 2020

Conflict is on America’s streets in 2020, and “tactical apparel” has become a lifestyle industry serving militarized law-enforcement agents and the freelance gunmen who emulate them. Less than two weeks before Election Day, orders are rolling in. 

Since last year, online purchases have driven a 20-fold jump in sales of goods like the $220 CM-6M gas mask -- resistant to bean-bag rounds -- for Mira Safety of Austin, Texas.

It doesn’t matter who gets elected,” founder Roman Zrazhevskiy said of his new customers. “They think that no matter who wins, Biden or Trump, there are going to be people who are upset about the result.” 

Not long ago -- perhaps a generation -- dressing like you’re going to war was for the veteran who never quite made it back from Vietnam or the angry young men who obsessed over gas masks and combat boots at the military surplus store. (Every American town seemed to have one, and only one.) 

A shift became apparent with this spring’s Black Lives Matter protests and bitterly resented pandemic lockdowns. Now the gear is everywhere, from camouflage-clad antifa supporters to right-wing extremists who appeared at Michigan’s capitol even after men were arrested in a plot to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

The Arming of America

April 8, 2018 TFTP

While there are a number of arguments that are used by gun control advocates, one of the most common is that individuals do not need high-powered firearms because they will not stand a chance in a war against the federal government. However, four years ago, a group of armed men and women did come together to form a militia, as referenced in the Second Amendment, and they successfully stood up to the government agencies that were infringing upon their rights.

On April 5, 2014, an ongoing land dispute between cattle rancher Cliven Bundy and the United States Bureau of Land Management hit its peak when the agency and federal law enforcement began seizing cattle owned by Bundy that they claimed were trespassing on “federally-owned” land.

 

The dispute first began in 1993 when Bundy refused to pay for a cattle grazing permit to use the land near his ranch in Clark County, Nevada, after the BLM claimed that he must reduce the side of his herd to 150 and that the size of land where his cattle were allowed to graze would be severely restricted. Bundy argued that the federal government does not have the authority to own large amounts of land, which launched a legal battle that continued for the next two decades.

Achieving the very opposite of their stated intentions

WTSP   02/26/2018

TAMPA, Fla. -- Thousands of gun enthusiasts -- more so than ever -- flocked to the Florida State Fairgrounds for the Florida Gun Show event.

Organizers say they had a record number of people attend the event on Saturday, Feb. 24, almost 7,000, and expected more Sunday.

The manager for the Florida Gun Show, George Fernandez, says they’ve never seen such a big crowd.

Over the last five years, the world trade in arms has reached a level not seen since 1990

20 Feb, 2017 

Over the last five years, the world trade in arms has reached a level not seen since 1990. The Middle East and Asia remain the key markets for weapons, according to a report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

India is still the world’s largest arms buyer, accounting for 13 percent of global imports between 2012 and 2016 against 9.7 percent the previous five years. The country bought most of its arms from Russia.
“While China is increasingly able to substitute arms imports with indigenous products, India remains dependent on weapons technology from many willing suppliers, including Russia, the USA, European states, Israel and South Korea,” said Siemon Wezeman, Senior Researcher with the SIPRI’s arms and military expenditure program.
Saudi Arabia, which leads a military intervention in Yemen, became the second biggest buyer of arms, followed by the United Arab Emirates, China, and Algeria, the study said.
The kingdom’s arms imports soared 212 percent compared to the previous five years, accounting for 8.2 percent of global weapons imports. Riyadh bought weapons mostly from the US and the UK, the report said.
All in all, arms imports by countries in the Middle East increased 86 percent in the five years through 2016 with Qatar increasing purchases by 245 percent. However, Iran, being under an arms embargo, received only 1.2 percent of total arms sales to the region.    RT