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Operation Spiderweb: A wake-up call!
On June 1, Ukraine launched its most elaborate and audacious attack since the start of the war. Over 18 months, 117FPV quadcopters were smuggled into Russia and hidden inside shipping containers with remote-controlled semi-trucks, which parked near five air bases across Russia and hidden inside shipping containers with with remote -controlled roofs. The containers were then loaded on the backs with all the trucks in position, the roof panels of the containers simultaneously retracted and the drones took flight.
According to the U.S. officials , they hit up to 20 parked aircraft, including long-range bombers that have fired cruise missiles at Ukrainian cities, and destroyed about 10 of them. With a drone fleet that costs less than $1million, on Russia – and delivered a warning to the U.S and its allies on their own vulnerabilities. Phillips Payson O’Brien, a professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, notes that Chinese interests have for years been buying up American farmland close to U.S. Military bases and national security installations. “They could be growing soybeans,” said O’Brien, “But they could also be staging grounds for drone swarms that would make the Ukrainian attacks look minuscule.”
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Please forward this letter to your friends.
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Most Internet Browsers – Firefox, Edge, Opera etc – have decided to truncate, or cut off, the bottoms of long emails like this one. There is a tiny note at the bottom allowing you to retrieve the rest of the email. Rob and Abby
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AI Anxiety
ChatGPT “o3 Model” refuses shutdown in test, raising safety concerns
Shutdown request denied: Traditionally humans have had at least one fail-safe method of controlling technology: hitting the off switch. But what happens when a machine wants to stay on? In May, the AI safety firm Palisade Research reported that multiple OpenAL models had refused explicit instructions to power down. Anthropic revealed that, during tests, its Claude4 Opus model even resorted to blackmail, threatening to release fictional emails that suggested the engineer trying to shut it down was having an affair.
This does not mean the models have attained consciousness rather, they’re so optimized for the self preservation that they can independently formulate ways to manipulate and subvert their human handlers. The implications for the age of is superintelligentAL are disturbing. “Any defenses of protections we attempt to build into these AL “pods” on their way toward godhood will be anticipated and neutralized,” said neuroscience researcher Tamlyn Hunt, “like Gulliver throwing off the tiny strands the Lilliputians used to try and restrain him.”
Wilderness Survival
Your body can’t digest protein without fat, and you can develop protein poisoning without it. Rabbit starvation and the French-Canadian term mal de caribou (caribou sickness) are common  colloquialisms for protein poisoning.
Basically, no matter how many rabbits, snails, limpets, or venison stakes you eat, you can still starve to death because your body can’t digest all of that protein without fat. This is one of the reasons why beaver hunting and trapping was so key to many North American indigenous people for so long—because beavers are fatty. The fat from a black bear would have been of upmost importance, too.
Field and Stream Magazine
 Animal AccessoriesRemember last January when we reported That Orcas in Puget Sound were once again  wearing dead salmons on their heads as, presumably, a fashion accessory? Well, now chimpanzees at a sanctuary in Zambia are wearing blades of grass in their ears. Even more curious was the comment from primatologist Edwin van Leeuwen who said the behavior may offer insights into the “evolutionary roots of human culture.” Hmmm…
Uh… say what?
The Oregon State Police have apologized for a recruitment email that asked potential SWAT team members if they are “jonesing” to fire weapons, Authorized by SWAT Sgt. Jamin vanMeter, the email also touts the thrill of “Tossing diversion” (flash bangs), “experiencing” dramatic and highly intense “hostage situations, and firing nonlethal rounds at fleeing suspects.” OSP said the emails glamorization of the use of force as contrary “to agency values.”
The Week
Poor at $100k/year
The cost of living in California is now so high that people with six figure salaries qualify for low incoming housing. In tech hub Santa Clara those making $111,700 or less can can apply for “affordable housing” compared with $109,700 in San Francesco and $72,050 in the state capital, Sacramento. “I love the weather,” said Chelsea Carmack, a recent transplant to Sacramento from St. Louis, but “as far as finding housing, it has been very challenging.”
The Week
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Some eBay comments…
– High quality magazine. Well packaged – arrived in great condition. Shipped quickly. Very pleased.
– Book as described, fast shipping, good packaging.
– Great condition—good value—-sent promptly. Exceptional transaction. 
– Just what I needed. Got it in a timely manner. Very satisfied
– Took one look at the manual and did a fast mental trip back to basic training. D–n but it brought back some funny and some not so funny memories. P.S. Thank you for the book and the fast trip down memory lane.
– Exactly as described. Nice reproduction! Well-packed, and shipped quick! Thanks!! AAA+++
– Great information, safe swift and secure transaction, accurate description, thank you.
– I had an issue with my order but the owner was really fast to reply and address my problem. You should buy with confidence from this group. Hard to find a business today that stands behind their product like this one did. Thank you very much!!
On the other hand…
I did not use pay pall for this purchase. I used my own credit card. Did you get my personal credit card for payment?? I do not like or will use pay pall. Dale Stephens
We use Paypal as our online “bank” to process credit cards. We started to use them 25 years ago when they were the only show in town and now it would be too expensive to change some 7-10,000 listings tied to them at our website. Besides, they have somewhat softened their gun bias recently. Rob
5/15/25 THIS ORDER WAS MADE IN APRIL ! WHAT IS THE PROBLEM ? I HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANYTHING FROM YOU! WHERE IS MY BOOK !!!!!!! SEND ME MY BOOK !!! Dale Stephens
Dale, It is rude to type in all caps. Your book was shipped on April 17. It was delivered to a neighbor “as requested” at 5:46pm on April 26. See the tacking number sent by email when you ordered the item.
Can you give me the address where it was delivered. I did not wamt it delivered only to me. It was a mistake on my part. Dale Stephens
Hi Dale, No, I’m sorry, we were not privileged to that information. It was between you and the Post Office. If I were you I would contact the PO and ask them what they did with your package. Cheers, Rob
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July 2025 Newsletter
I tried to place an order. You took my credit card number and then started jerking me around. It said to push some button or it would repeat the action. I’m not a robot. Are  you? Bud
Well Bud, Looks like you bought a Merwin, Hulbert & Co. – 1887 – Print. That sound about right? So, what’s your problem? Rob
Hi Rob, My problem is with a robot asking me if I’m a robot. Don’t know what happened but every time I tried to order, it added another order, up to 3. It was frustrating. I finally was able to place an order by leaving the site and then reentering, deleting my cart, and starting over from the beginning. Order then went thru, no problem. Looking forward to receiving another of your fine products. Thanks for asking. Bud
Hi Bud, I get your point and sympathize. Although I’m not up on the latest anti bad-actor prevention, I suppose the robot thing is part of that. There are a whole lot of people who devote their lives to trying to disrupt unsuspecting and unprotected websites. Sad, cruel little people. Thanks for your patience and your order. Cheers, Rob
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Springfield Armory M1 Garand Manual – Is this actually in book form..? chargeraficionado69
 It is printed in color, bound with cloth heat-activated tape, and trimmed. Rob
I bought another one & it was just photocopies…. chargeraficionado69
Then I don’t recommend you buy this one. It is a reprint, not an original. Rob
No, reprint is fine, but a stack of non-bound copies is horrible. Question: I assume outside sheet is regular paper as well, or is it a tad thicker, like original..? chargeraficionado69
This item is bound and the covers are cover stock. However, we are reprinters and do not make perfect forgeries of originals. We do not use original paper, inks or binding, nor do we print to original size. It sounds to me that you are looking for an original, not a reprint, however good the reprint my be… check out feedback to get a better feel for what we do. Cheers, Rob for Cornell Publications
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Hello i have a gun pat djuly 13 86, Serial nr 3333200, Hunter Arms 00, I ned the prize. Driza
I am sorry, we cannot give the prices of firearms. We are publishers only; we print books. Abby
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Remington 1932 Firearms Catalog – PDF, Remington 1923 Firearms & Ammo No. 107 Gun  Catalog – PDF, Remington-1932-2055.pdf – Hello I’m trying to print these and it says they are expired. What do I do? Thanks, Jedd
Hello Jedd, When you purchase a PDF, it is important that you download the file to your computer so you can access it in the future, independent of our website. The website is just not equipped to operate as a “paid library”. Please let me know if you downloaded the items you are asking about, or if I should send them to you using wetransfer.com. Cheers, Rob
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Abby or Rob, Hey folks I haven’t received a News Letter since last October. Am I on your no contact list. Hope not. Wes
Hi Wes, I added your name to the newsletter list, it wasn’t there but I don’t know why. Back issues are available on the website. Best, Abby
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Springfield Armory M1 Garand Manual – Is this a booklet or loose pages? Farsailer (ebay)
The booklet is bound with heat-activated cloth tape, then trimmed. Rob for cornell publications
Thanks, just brought one from you. Semper Fi Mac…
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Just an FYI: the Winchester 1939 Big Catalog erroneously lists the 1907 Police Rifle on page 149 in its index, but it isn’t there. I bought this edition specifically to see this listing, but I discovered that this page actually shows a listing for the Model 67 Single Shot bolt action rifle. Not your fault, but perhaps you can make a note of this in your description for this edition. BTW, do you have time to confirm whether  the 1907 Police Rifle “package’ can definitely be found in one of your other Winchester catalogs? I’m researching the specific features found on this factory variation. Cheers! Dave
Hi Dave, The best description I’ve seen is in the 1938 Salesman’s Manual– half page, illustrated: cornellpubs.com/product/2288/ Cheers, Rob
Thanks Rob — that has a good image and is a pretty good general Winchester resource. – Dave
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 Crosman Model Mk I & Mk II Manual – 1970 – I’m a little confused by your description of this item. It indicates the size is about 5×8 inches. That’s quite a bit larger than the original and it says no cover, yet the listing shows a cover. Is it an actual size manual?
Sorry, that is a typo. For ease of printing over 7000 different manuals and catalogs, we somewhat standardize sizes. THE CROSMAN MANUALS ARE ALL ABOUT 4.25″; X 5″. We purposely do not print forgeries of originals, so mistakes don’t happen later. The cover and insides are all paper, like the original. Rob for Cornell Publications.
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Winchester 1932 Gun Catalog – While I’m guessing the Winchester Signal cannons are listed,,, could you verify this for me? Thanx in advance for your time. Andrew
Andrew, Yes, they are on page 87. Rob for cornellpubs
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Marlin 1940 Rifles and Shotguns – Component Parts Catalog – Does this book give drawings and dimensions of each part so a Gunsmith can’t duplicate parts? edha_4832 (ebay)
I’m going to answer your question as if you meant to type “can” instead of “can’t”. No, they were trying to sell parts from the company, not support independent gunsmiths, so there are just pictures and parts names. Abby
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 Colt 1972 AR-15 Sporter Rifle Manual – do you have a 1973 version of same manual? cursm_2 (ebay)
We don’t, sorry. Rob for cornell publications
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Browning c1984 Auto-5 Semi Auto Shotgun Manual – does the browning auto 5 manual have teardown and assembly. mpitman1953 (ebay)
Yes it does. Rob for cornell publications
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Around the beginning of April, I discovered my computer was hacked. My Microsoft account was hacked into, and my username, password and security information were changed. My email was compromised and I can no longer receive emails at that account and can no longer access my Account I need to update it to my new email. I just finished contacting chat…what a joke! They said to contact you using this address. Jeffrey
Hi Jeffrey, Funny, I was just looking at our Apple email addresses for the phones. They claim we have to get rid of passwords in six weeks and use some other method of signing in that is cleverly designed to confuse us. I added your email to out newsletter, which is really the only place we actively use customer emails (unless they unsubscribe). We do have emails from past purchases but we don’t generally use them unless there is a problem. I hope this helps, but if I’m missing something, please let me know. Cheers, Rob
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Whelen’s (Col) 1939 National Target & Supply Gun Handbook-Catalog (Wash. DC) – I’m writing to ask if you have ever seen an application chart for Tilden scope bases? Trying to fit an old mauser rifle! Thanks Mike
I sympathize with your problem, but no, I don’t recall seeing one. You might try Numrich. Rob for cornell publications
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I just wanted to thank you for what you do. As a past satisfied customer, I enjoy reading the newsletter and am truly AMAZED at the rants and your patience in dealing with them! All the best to you both! John
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Winchester 1900 April Gun Catalog No. 65 – Do you have any reprints on the ’66 or the Henry? Do you combine shipping ? Thx Dave G
Hello Dave, We didn’t make the scans of the Henry, Travel Wyoming www.travelwyoming.com sent it to us, and their copy was missing two pages of testimonials. We note that error on the second line of our description of the item. We offer refunds, no questions asked. Besides the Henry catalog you have, the earliest Winchester catalog we offer is the 1871, then over a hundred more over the next hundred years. Cheers, Rob for Cornell Publications
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Cheers,
Rob and Abby
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