Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader “Tin Can” sent an article about someone who earns demerits for judgment but bonus points for creativity: Camouflaged Residence Discovered in California Park. It was interesting to read that growing dope in California is now a crime only if it is done “without a permit.” (For cultivation of medical marijuana.) It should be mentioned that this man is just one of many in a long succession. Back in 2009 I mentioned in SurvivalBlog a father and daugher who had secret residence in a Portland, Oregon park, and a news story about a hermit who secretly lived for at least three years inside the “secure” Los Alamos nuclear research reservation in New Mexico.

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Reader L.M. flagged this: Mexico urges U.S. to review gun laws after Colorado shooting. Lee’s comment: “Now that is funny, especially since [much of] Mexico is run by gun-toting drug lords and corrupt politicians.” JWR Adds: In Mexico, (where it is very difficult for mere mortals to even own a gun and those in military chamberings like 5.56mm NATO are completely banned), the murder rate is 18 per 100,000 inhabitants, while in the U.S. it is 4.8 per 100,000 inhabitants. One mass murder in Mexico in 2010 had 72 victims. And another on 2011 had 145 victims. (The 12 dead in the Colorado “Knightmare” seems small, by comparison.) They’d best get their own house in order before they see fit to criticize…

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Freeze Dry Guy just started a 25% off sale on Mountain House Foods in #10 Cans. Order soon!

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This makes me wonder… TSA Let 25 Illegal Aliens Attend Flight School Owned by Illegal Alien. (Thanks to G.G. for the ;ink.)

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Reader S.E. suggested a web site that has an extensive ham radio manual download page and also many modification documents for a wide variety of ham radios.



Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"Any people anywhere, being inclined and having the power, have the right to rise up and shake off the existing government, and form a new one that suits them better. This is a most valuable, a most sacred right – a right which we hope and believe is to liberate the world. Nor is this right confined to cases in which the whole people of an existing government may choose to exercise it. Any portion of such people, that can, may revolutionize, and make their own of so much of the territory as they inhabit." – Abraham Lincoln, in an address before Congress, January 1848. (Before he became an unremorseful statist.)



Note from JWR:

Today we present another two entries for Round 41 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) a $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear, E.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value), and F.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo.

Second Prize: A.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training. Together, these have a retail value of $589. B.) A FloJak FP-50 stainless steel hand well pump (a $600 value), courtesy of FloJak.com. C.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $300, D.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials, and E.) two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value) and F.) A Tactical Trauma Bag #3 from JRH Enterprises (a $200 value).

Third Prize: A.) A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.), B.) A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206, C.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value, D.) A Commence Fire! emergency stove with three tinder refill kits. (A $160 value.), and E.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security.

Round 41 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.



Safe Drinking Water, by Lloyd T.

We all know that three days without water and we are incapacitated and nearing death.  We all know that water from streams, lakes, ponds and rivers if consumed “raw” can lead to parasitic infection.   We also know that those same sources may be polluted with pesticides, insecticides, heavy metals, and a host of other contaminants.  These can lead to sickness and to death. 

If you find yourself in a situation where it is drink or die, then drink of course and hope for the best, right?   In a worst case scenario that might be the only choice you have, and you might very well get lucky.  A better alternative is to know how to treat the water so that it is safe.  The following techniques require at least a fire-safe container, or plastic sheeting, or PET bottles, bleach or iodine.
The simplest technique of removing parasites is to boil the water.  Pasteurization will take place at just 160 degrees F after 6 minutes.  Bringing water to a boil and letting it cool off will also do it [but it is overkill.  You don’t need to actually boil the water [, but if you don’t have a dairy of candy thermometer, it is one way to make sure that the microorganisms in the water are sterile or dead.]  This does not remove chemical or metal content.

Treatment with common household bleach works quite well.  Use regular bleach, not bleach with scents  in them.  The chlorine in the bleach is the same chlorine used in water treatment plants.  If the water is cloudy, let it stand until the particulate matter settles, then decant the clear water – or filter the water through coffee filters or clean cloth or whole chunk charcoal.  Do not use briquettes, they contain chemical binders that can leach into the water.   When the water is clear add 8 drops of bleach per gallon.  Stir or shake well and let it set for at least 30 minutes before drinking. 
If you use tincture of iodine (2%) mix in 20 drops per gallon of clear water, shake or stir well and let set for 30 minutes.  In both cases, Iodine or chlorine, use more if you cannot filter the water.  How much more?  There are too many variables to give a single answer.  Use your best judgment.  Also let it stand longer so that the disinfecting chemicals have more time to work their magic. 

If heating water to 160 F isn’t possible and you don’t have bleach or iodine then there are still other methods that you can use. 

Solar distillation is an effective way to remove contaminants.  This is a simple process, but a slow one.  It will not produce a large volume in a short time.  It can keep you alive though.  The materials required are plastic sheeting, clear is best, and a clean bowl or small pot.  Begin by digging a large diameter hole shaped like a shallow dish bowl.  The size of the hole depends on the size of the plastic sheeting you have.  A manageable size would be three feet in diameter.  The depth should be twice the depth of the bowl or pot you will be using.  The hole should slope up on the sides to the top to maximize the amount of water surface exposed to the sun.  A thin large sheet of water will evaporate faster than a deep small hole of water will.

Collect enough rocks to make a complete circle around the circumference of the hole.  Lay one sheet of plastic in the hole to line the bottom.  Cover the edges of this plastic with enough dirt to keep it in place.  Fill this hole with water to the edges.  Place the bowl or pot in the middle of the hole of water.  This will be the collection container.  The inside of the collection container must be clean.  You may need to place a rock or piece of metal inside the collection container to keep it from floating out of position, if so make sure it too is clean. 

Lay a second sheet of plastic over the top of the hole, weighing it down with the rocks you collected.  Leave a little slack in this sheet.  When it is secure around the edges place a small amount of dirt on the edges of the plastic.  You want a fairly good seal, or you’ll lose some of the water you would otherwise be able to drink.  Place a small rock on top of the top sheet directly above the collection container.  This will slope the plastic down to a point above the collector.  As the sun hits the plastic it will evaporate the standing water.  That evaporated water will be trapped against the underside of the upper plastic and condense, then run down the plastic to the point above the collector and drip into it.  When enough water has accumulated remove it and set the apparatus back up.

If you have clean flexible plastic tubing you can run the tubing to the collector, coming out the edge of the hole and suck the water out periodically, saving the work of restoring the solar still each time you collect water.  If you don’t have the tubing it’s no big deal.  Obviously you should choose a sunny location for the solar still, and you can make more than one to increase production.  The hotter the ambient temperature, the more direct the sunlight, the faster it will work.

Another system for biological disinfection is to use the sun’s ultra-violet rays.  This is a simple and easy method.  It can also produce as much water as you can find containers to disinfect in.  Clean, clear PET bottles of two liter or smaller size are the container of choice.  Clear glass works, but not as fast. 

Put clear filtered water inside a PET bottle, set it where it will be in direct sunlight, and wait four hours.  The suns UV rays will kill the biologicals in the water.  The bottle should be horizontal, not standing up.  Angling the bottles to perpendicular to the sun is best, roof tops work well for this.  Of course remove any labels that would block the sun.  That’s the short explanation.
For maximum effectiveness fill the bottle ¾’s full, cap it and shake vigorously, then fill the rest of the way.  This helps to introduce oxygen into the water.  The oxygen enhances the UV exposure and kills pathogens faster.  On partly cloudy days where you are receiving more than 50% sunlight during the day 6 hours is required.  On overcast days where you receive less than 50% sunlight 12 hours.  UV penetrates overcast days, but at a lower rate.  This doesn’t work during heavy cloud days or rain.  To be safe and if you have the time, two full days of sunlight would be optimum.
PET allows UV rays through.  PVC blocks UV rays and may also introduce chemicals you don’t want.  Most bottles that contain consumable liquids are PET.  Clear glass works, but glass blocks some of the  UV rays.  If using glass then double the exposure time.   This method does not remove chemical or metallic contamination, only biological.   This is a system that is being introduced to third world countries around the globe.  It is simple and effective, relying only on being able to find sufficient PET bottles to work.  Plastic bags also work.  Use sandwich type bags, or any other type of food grade clear plastic bag.  Make sure the sun doesn’t have to penetrate more than four inches of water though.  If the only container you have requires more than four inches of penetration, shake or move the water several times and give extra exposure time.

Another way of obtaining water is a transpiration trap.  Locate a leafy bush, wrap a plastic bag around the end of the bush and seal as well as you can against the stem that you placed it over. Get as many leaves inside the bag as you can.  Plants transpire, or give off water vapor, all the time.  The plastic bag catches that moisture and condenses it.  Periodically check the amount of water and when enough, you can probably drink it straight out of the bag.  Caution – do not do this with poisonous plants such as oleanders.  You might get some of the poison in the water. 
If you use a clean bag that is well sealed this water might be clean enough to drink.  It has been “filtered” by the plant itself and will most likely not contain contaminants.  However, it can be polluted by whatever is on the leaf’s surfaces.  The best thing to do is to follow the UV disinfection routine after collecting the water. 

If you have towels, during a heavy dew you can collect water by dragging the towel through dew-laden grass and wring it out into a container, then collect more.  This water should also be sun treated if possible, or boiled or chemically disinfected. 

Fog traps can also be made.  They are not difficult to make, but only work in a heavy fog.  Hang large sheets of plastic or other sheet like materials and collect the water that adheres to them.  With plastic, shape the bottom of the sheet into a curve that brings the water down to one point and place a container beneath it.  With cloth sheets wring the sheet out periodically.  This water will be as clean as the surface you collect it on.  You may or may not have to disinfect it, although it is a good idea to.

Water heaters are also water storage tanks.  They come with a drain valve on the bottom.  Each water heater will contain many gallons of drinkable water.  This is particularly handy for short term water shortage problems, such as grid power failures. 

Safe drinking water is an age-old problem, and is still a major problem for much of the world’s population.  In a survival situation the last thing you need is to become sick or parasite ridden.  There isn’t much time, three days or so, to solve the problem.  Knowing how to treat water is of paramount importance.  Starting right away on the treatment process is necessary.  If you can produce a surplus of water, do so, but remember to store the water in clean vessels.  If the water is stored for a long period of time, treat it again.   The above treatment options can leave small traces of contaminants that won’t be a problem at the time, but if stored long enough those contaminants can breed and re-infect the water.



Self Defense Without Firearms, by Daniel W.

Now I know y’all like your guns, and that’s fine. I like mine too. I once heard someone say, “If you don’t have gold and silver you’re doomed.” Now these two things are also very important, but I question how this man planned to defend his precious metals without a well-stocked armory.

As Mr. Rawles himself has said, guns are tools much like those found in a carpenter’s tool box. Each fills a different role. But although guns are good at a great many different things, there are some roles which are difficult for them to fill. For instance, here in the United States you have to pay the BATF a $200 tax for each suppressor you purchase. But knives, bows and crossbows are silent by their nature [although the arrow and blade recipients are often quite noisy]. And in the most of the gun-restrictive states you are better off carrying a knife than trying to smuggle a pistol. [JWR Adds: Be sure to check your state and local laws. For example in California it is a felony to carry a concealed fixed blade knife of any length on the first offense!]

Which brings me to my point: While they should in no way be relied upon as a primary means of defense, cold weapons (Essentially meaning weapons other than firearms, usually primitive in nature, such as the aforementioned bows and knives) have their place in the Survivalist arsenal for special situations. Don’t pretend to be a ninja with them, because there’s a 99.9% chance you’re not. (If you are one of the 0.1% of SurvivalBlog’s readership who is a practicing Ninjutsu student, then I salute you.)

Knives
Carrying a knife is a lot like prepping in general: Some people will view you as strange and paranoid. That is, until they get into a situation where their life is in danger. Then it’s suddenly, “Hey, you have your knife with you, right?”

Thing is, knives have about a thousand uses which have nothing to do with violence. I certainly don’t recommend doing this, but I once used a knife to widen a hole for a doorknob. You can safely use them to open packages, cut rope, cut food, do limited woodworking, the list goes on and on.

Their use as a weapon is an added bonus, but strong caution must be advised. Straightforward combat is where the combat knife is weakest. It can be done, but you’re likely to get just as wounded as the opponent that you’re attacking.

If a knife is to be used, it should be used with stealth, against a lone target. Keep in mind that you’re not trying to give your enemy the death of a thousand cuts. Deep abdominal and throat stabs with a knife are much better than slashes.

There are many ways to grip a knife, but there are two that I usually use. The one is pretty standard: Essentially just a clenched fist around the knife handle. This is usually called the hammer grip. The other grip is called the reverse grip, and is like the hammer grip except that the blade extends from the bottom of the hand rather than the top. In the latter grip, your thumb rests against the pommel to support it for thrusting. In practice, I use the hammer grip for the few times I want to do slashing (which again is not the optimal way to knife fight.) and the reverse grip for stabs.

If you think the idea of a gun fight is terrifying, knife fighting is even more so –definitely not for the squeamish. Disable your opponent quickly and by whatever means possible and be prepared to bandage multiple wounds of your own when the fight is over.

Bows
The bow, while not as effective in modern combat as shown in the movies, still has several advantages over guns.
First, it is silent by nature. [Although, again those on the receiving end will probably scream prodigiously unless you are lucky enough to sever their spine and have them bleed out quickly.This makes it suited to hunting both four-legged creatures and stealthily taking out lone opponents.

Second, arrows can be handmade with simple materials if necessary. Wooden dowels are very inexpensive at your local hardware and general stores. Look for ones which area about 1/3rd inch in diameter. Then, cut them down to match the draw length of your bow. Cut a notch in one end with a serrated knife or a handsaw. Cut it deep enough that the bowstring fits snugly inside.
Then, about three quarters of an inch from that draw a line around the circumference of the arrow. There are several ways to make fletchings, including feathers and plastic, but my favorite is explained in this video. I have tested it and found it to work, as long as you are good with your measurements.

Arrowheads can also be done several ways. If you’re wanting to siphon your inner caveman, you can go for the flint approach. This is not recommended. If you just want to sharpen the end of your arrow but don’t want to add weight to it, you can actually use a pencil sharpener to carve it to a fine point. This is good in a pinch, but you’ll have to adjust your aim. This is because the head weighs down the arrow. This sounds like a bad thing, but without that weight at the tip, the arrow jumps up when you shoot it, causing you to overshoot your target unless you correct your shot.
What I’ve found to be a cheap alternative to store-bought heads is gluing nails to the arrow’s end with woodworker’s glue. This is what some bow hunters in Africa do, (without the glue though, they carefully hand-inlet theirs) and it works pretty well [for small game].

If you have a big budget you can buy an assortment of arrows with very fancy heads, such as springing blades. They’re expensive, and will probably break if you miss, but if you hit you can be pretty sure that whatever you just shot will bleed out quietly.

Another advantage of arrows is that they can very easily be made into incendiary weapons. Simply wrap some cotton around the tip and douse it in oil or alcohol or another flammable material, and light it with your choose of lighting implement when you’re ready to shoot. Arrowheads can also be dipped in poison, if you’re looking for a way to deliver it.

As for shooting with a bow, keep in mind that this is not the Hunger Games, and you are likely a lot less “Elite” than you make yourself out to be. If you’re shooting at humans, like I said with the knife, aim for lone targets from stealth. Keep in mind that arrows travel in an arc, and where you aim might not be where the arrow ends up. If the arrow has no head, it will probably overshoot.

Depending on the distance from your target you will have to angle your shot upwards, which is a skill that takes a lot of practice. A rule of thumb is to aim for the head, because even if you undershoot that you’ll get a chest shot. Horizontal accuracy is not amazingly hard to achieve with a bow, but watch out for wind. If it’s an especially windy day, you’re probably better off sticking to your guns.

Crossbows
Crossbows negate some of the disadvantages of a bow, while retaining all the advantages. For one thing, you can keep a shot loaded with a lot less effort. They’re also easy to sight with. Some of the more expensive models even come with scopes. In addition, they generally have a lot more force behind them. An added bonus to this is that they travel in a much more straight line than bows do, meaning less aim adjusting. Crossbows are often more expensive than bows, but the above advantages may make it worth it for you.

Slingshots
Acquiring ammo for slingshots is even easier than it is for bows and crossbows. Look for appropriately sized rounded rocks. That’s about it. If you want to get fancy you can pick up steel balls at a hardware store. With a little training, you can become pretty accurate with the darn things. I wouldn’t recommend using them against humans unless absolutely necessary, but they could be pretty nifty against birds and small game.
In addition, there are some people who do crazy things with slingshots. And then can teach you how. Who I’m talking about is this guy: Joerg Sprave.

An absolute legend of the slingshot world. If you’re willing to endure occasional adult language, you can pick up a lot of neat tricks on this channel. I just recently made his sling pistol, and it was a great learning experience.

In Closing
They won’t make you a ninja, but in certain situations they can be pretty useful. For one thing, with the exception of the crossbow they’re a lot less regulated than firearms. They can help you to conserve precious ammo, and give you the ability to make silent kills on small and big game without the BATF paperwork and $200 transfer tax for purchasing a registered suppressor. All good things, in this pilgrim’s opinion.

Peace, and God Bless. – Daniel



Letter Re: Long Term Public Employee Pension Obligations

Dear Editor:
First off, as a Federal Law Enforcement Officer, a Senior Patrol Agent in the United States Border Patrol, I am getting tired of being vilified by the media and American public for picking a career that has a somewhat decent retirement system. I’m tired of my Union being vilified. In fact, I’m just tired of being vilified in general. It seems like most people are just suffering from sour grapes for not having picked a career that has a somewhat decent retirement system. Why should we be punished for taking a job that offered this retirement? Shouldn’t this be directed at the people in charge that created this benefit? I worked in a job with a mandatory retirement of 57. I am a union officer but we cannot bargain for wages or retirement. Our wages and retirement are set by congress because we are Federal Law Enforcement.

I work 50 hours a week minimum. That is our standard work week. I work outside in all types of weather conditions. My last station was in south Texas. During the summer months, the temperature was always over 100 degrees with 70-90% humidity. For at least 30 of those days, the temp was over 110 with the same humidity. I’ve been rained on, hailed on, spent hours in the hot sun and hours in the freezing cold. Bitten up by bugs, snakes and torn up by the local plants. Ridden in vehicles in 100+ degree heat with no working air conditioning for hours in a day. I have been shot at, cut and been in fights for my life, including one on a moving train. This is the life I chose. I chose this life to make where I live safe for my family and friends and to defend our way of life.

Our retirement system is the way it is because we burn out so fast. By the time we are able to retire we are usually so torn up from the job we cannot do another job. I’ve lost 70% of my hearing in my left ear, (not from shooting), and 30% in my right. I’ve had surgery to repair a damaged joint which will never be the same, but I still do the job. I wake up with aches and pains in all my joints from having spent years walking over uneven ground and up and down hills, but as I said, I chose this career.

I contribute 3% of my salary to my government retirement. Not much you say, but in the civilian corporate world, most companies provide 100% of the employees’ retirement without employee contribution. To make sure I have a decent retirement, I contribute to a voluntary retirement system. I contribute 18% of my salary, (set by IRS law), to this and it is invested in different markets as I designate. I also spent seven years active duty Army. This time will count towards my retirement, but I have to "buy" this time. I will retire with 27 years of active federal service.

I do all this so I can retire with 47% of my averaged, highest three years of salary. When I hit mandatory retirement, my middle child will be 19, and my youngest will be 13. This gives me a four person household, (my middle son can stay at home while he is in college). My retirement will only be $15,000 a year above the poverty level for a family of four. Don’t forget though, I still have to maintain health insurance because I don’t qualify for Medicaid, Medicare or Obama care or I will have to pay an IRS penalty. Also, the average life span for a retired Law Enforcement Officer is very short. So, I have to make sure that my wife is taken care. To do this, I have to take a $500 per month cut in my retirement benefits to provide survivor benefits. This way, if I die, my wife will get half of what I was getting in retirement pay. So my $35,000 a year retirement just went to $29,000. Not bad you say. How about all the doctor bills because my joints are all chewed up and need replacing or the health effects I suffer from being exposed to bacteria and viruses that come with doing this job. That $700 a month Cadillac insurance program that the media says I have only pays about half of what that is going to cost. But again, I chose this life.

Remember folks, when you paint a picture with a broad brush, you tend to smear the small details. In this case, when you smear government workers in general, you smear those of us that put our lives on the line day after day, and we do it all for a pittance. We do it for ourselves, we do it because of our families, we do it for our friends and we do it for our ideals and beliefs.

We do it because it is the right thing to do and we do it because no one else will. – T.R.



Letter Re: Some Experiences With Handling Trash

James:
I have some thoughts on the article regarding the disposal of trash.  It was interesting and thought provoking, however I think in a situation where services were not going to come back you would find that that amount of rubbish you generate would be quite small.

You would not be bringing more “stuff” into the house as you would not be shopping and anything you did already have you would recycle as there would be no chance of getting those storage jars etc any longer.  So all those tins, jars containers etc would eventually be used in one way or another.

If you haven’t already, you should already be moving away from a disposable life, for starters it is cheaper than continually buying disposable products.  Paper plates are not a way of life here except for picnics so if you use paper plates on an every day basis I think a change is in order.  Disposable nappies are expensive and cloth nappies are not much work at all (and healthier for your baby’s bottom), washable menstrual pads just as easy (and more comfortable in my opinion).

Kitchen scraps should always be given to the chooks or the garden, you would be cooking from scratch and there would be very little on-going trash from any packaging.  Change now and purchase as little packaging as possible, if there is packaging try and recycle it, paper and cardboard in to the garden, glass jars for preserving and storage etc, if you do buy packaging make sure you can recycle it.
Repurpose items that are no longer used for the original purpose, learn to sew and fix or change the clothes you no longer want, reuse items for another reason, or just don’t buy too much in the first place, just the things you need. 

Have two uses for items you bring into the house and think about it before you buy: what is the life span of this item, can it be used for more than one purpose and can it be recycled on the property?  Don’t create rubbish to start with.

So basically, don’t buy disposable products, and make sure the packaging is recyclable, long term your rubbish would be minimal and mostly recyclable.  In a TEOTWAWKI situation there would be no more items randomly bought on impulse and anything you already had would be saved like our grandparents did.

Regards To You, – Kathryn in Australia



Economics and Investing:

Rhonda T. suggested a New York Times slideshow on Stockton, California’s bankruptcy.

Steven M. sent: Subterranean Swiss Hotel Sells for Shocking Price. “In what may be the deal of the century, a lucky buyer paid just $1,020 at auction for a luxury underground hotel in Switzerland worth an estimated $3.8 million. However, keep in mind, it IS a former artillery bunker.”

G.G. sent this: Regulators close five small banks in Georgia, Florida, Kansas, Illinois for total of 38 US failures in 2012

 

Items from The Economatrix:

One-On-One With Craig Roberts #2:  Libor Fraud Now Part Of The System

S&P 500 Nears “Ultimate” Death Cross

US Home Starts Rise to Highest Level Since 2008

Fed Says Growth Was “Modest To Moderate” In June



Odds ‘n Sods:

Bryan E. recommended this for all the techies out there: Raspberry Pi

   o o o

O Kwame, Where Art Thou? Plan to Raze Detroit Empty Homes in Final Stages. FWIW, there is fine agricultural soil under all that urban blight. Perhaps someday Detroit will have a future as a farm town.

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Some good commentary over at Off Grid Survival: Anti-Gun Groups use Tragedy in Colorado to Push Gun Control Agendas. Of course, the statists won’t mention the fact that the movie theater chain banned concealed carry in their theaters. Once again, a mass murderer picked his playground of slaughter carefully–a place where he’d only find unarmed victims. If just one patron at the theater had a handgun, training, and guts, he could have stopped that psycho “Joker” long before he had the chance to shoot 70 people. The result could have been like the self-defense shooting at the cyber cafe just a few days ago in Ocala, Florida. But instead, there was tragedy. And undoubtedly the biased mass media will concentrate what happened in Colorado and ignore what happened in Florida.

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Reason #169 to move out of New York City.

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Reader C.D.V. found an interesting Russian news television segment showing a well-prepared Landbesitzer in Austria.



Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.” – Revelation 2:5 (KJV)



Notes from JWR:

On July 21, 1899 Ernest Hemingway was born in Oak Park, Illinois. He was a great writer, but his personal life was a shambles. It ended with his suicide in 1961. Enjoy his books. Learn from his mistakes.

Today we present another two entries for Round 41 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) a $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear, E.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value), and F.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo.

Second Prize: A.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training. Together, these have a retail value of $589. B.) A FloJak FP-50 stainless steel hand well pump (a $600 value), courtesy of FloJak.com. C.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $300, D.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials, and E.) two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value) and F.) A Tactical Trauma Bag #3 from JRH Enterprises (a $200 value).

Third Prize: A.) A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.), B.) A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206, C.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value, D.) A Commence Fire! emergency stove with three tinder refill kits. (A $160 value.), and E.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security.

Round 41 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.



Developing Intelligence Information on Your Subdivision, by F.J.

During my years in the military, I spent most of my time in the military intelligence field.  Though I was specifically trained in signals intelligence, I learned to utilize a number of sources in producing intelligence products for my command.  The tactics that I learned both in individual training as well as on-the-job are applicable to a number of applications, including preparing yourself and your family for emergency situations. 
In my years of reading “alternative” message boards and blog posts, I noticed that most people in the prepper community either live in a rural community or have a desire to relocate to one.  As someone who grew up in a rural area, I would highly recommend taking such an action, especially in the light of the threats we face from economic collapse, food shortages, rioting, and other calamities, both natural and man-made.  For some of us, however, we are unable to relocate from the area that we currently reside.

My family and I reside in a suburban area of a very large city in the United States.  Most likely, we will not be able to relocate from this area in the near term, so we attempt to make the best of our situation.  Part of our preparation includes the production of intelligence reports of our subdivision and local community.  Creating information such as threat reports is useful for any prepper, regardless of residence location, but is vital when the number of persons that are nearby increases.  Using my past experiences, these are some of the tactics that I adapted for use in creating such reports for my subdivision. 

Creating the Map
In my opinion, the first and most important step that a prepper can take in developing intelligence for his or her suburban area is mapping the local area.  Fortunately, maps are easy to find.  Because my subdivision is over 30 years old, there are fully developed key maps available for purchase.  I can also utilize online mapping and driving directions sites to not only create maps of the streets, but also overlay such things as satellite imagery, points of interest, and anything else that would be necessary for my preparations.  I would create a large, laminated copy of the local area and/or subdivision map and place it on a wall, desk, or other convenient area where it can be easily referenced and manipulated.  If there is space, I would create a variety of maps; for example,  one that featured only streets, one that included satellite imagery, and one that includes locations of stores and gas stations.  I would also create smaller laminated versions and keep them in my vehicles, bug-out bags, and purse or wallet.  Many of the tactics listed in this article will refer back to studying and manipulating the larger map.

Mapping Information
Once the maps are created, take time to study the aerial view of the area in depth.  Look for places of entry and exit of the subdivision and local area (by car, motorbike, foot, etc.)  Imagine where roadblocks can be placed should the authorities implement them.  Find different ways in which you could travel from and to your home.  Study potential choke-points where gangs can trap residents.  Note the locations of homes where you could stop by and/or drop your kids off if you were prevented from being at or going to your home.  For those that like to mark up documents, you can take a marker, either erasable or permanent, and make these notations right on the map.

Make an ingress and egress plan for your neighborhood.  Determine ways that you can get in and out of the subdivision without taking streets.  Take note of places where you could hide or find cover from attack.  Make note of these locations on the map. 

Take is checking the local police blotters and statistics for crime in the area.  When I managed a crime board during my employment at a university police department, I placed different colored pins in areas where crimes were suspected or committed.  Each pin represented a different classification of crime.  This allowed the staff to quickly ascertain the prevalence of certain crimes, locations where crime was highly probable, as well as trends that may have developed.  You can place pins, colored stickers, or even dots from colored markers on areas of the map to determine areas most likely to be hit by criminals when society begins to break down.   
It would also be important to note the locations of known sex offenders, felons, and former criminals on the map.  Sex offender information is often located on a state database at no charge; information for the others may not necessarily be available, or could come at a cost.  While a person who has served their time may never commit another offense during his or her lifetime again, it is best to at least know where potential danger could lurk during times of peril.

Some subdivisions contract with local police or security firms to provide patrols during certain periods of the day.  Look for patterns among the patrols as well as the patrollers and note them on the map if possible.  For example, in my subdivision, one officer spends most of his shift sitting in the same location every time he is on duty there.  Another officer takes the same route driving through the subdivision while he is on duty.  Make note of any significant changes that the officers take during patrol; this could indicate patrolling for specific reasons or persons.  Try to engage the officers from time to time; they can be a valuable source of information about the happenings around the area.

Learn the Location

Now, let’s step away from the map and now engage the subdivision and local environment in a different perspective.  Take time out to schedule regular walks, bike rides, etc. in and around the neighborhood.  If this is something you already do, take alternative paths or go during varying times during the day.  Here, you can practice taking the alternative ingress and egress routes you found on the map, as well as searching for places to hide or take cover.  Make note of the vehicles that are usually parked in driveways or along the street.  Learn to recognize familiar faces.  Note activities that seem to be out of the ordinary for your location.  For example, I learned, in my former neighborhood, that one home was used as a drug manufacturing lab.  Many of the teenagers in the neighborhood sold drugs for the dealer that ran the lab.  I learned to be careful when confronting the teens that would vandalize areas around my home (including the For Sale signs in our yard) knowing that they possessed more weapons and firepower than I did. 

Get detailed information on your subdivision.  Learn the number of homes that are in the subdivision.  For large subdivisions, learn how the different villages are configured.  Find out the demographics that are pertinent information to know (average ages of household adults, average number of children per household, etc.)  Make regular searches for your neighborhood on the internet .Take note of information on the neighborhood web site and/or bulletin board.  Keep local emergency numbers of note, including fire, police, utility companies, homeowner’s association, etc.

You can also learn valuable intelligence information from the windows of your residence.  Find the best vantage points in your home that allow you to look around the neighborhood.  This works best in multi-story homes.  Take time to note the “normal” condition of the homes, yards, and streets around you.  Binoculars or telescopes can help you view particular locations that could normally be inaccessible.  It would be best to have a privacy screen on your window that limits others from seeing your own activities while you watch theirs.

Know Your Neighbors

Get to know your neighbors   Start or join a neighborhood patrol.  Try to engage them as you make your way around the neighborhood during your walks or bike rides.  Begin discussions about local activities, being careful to avoid the impression that you are gathering information for intelligence products.  Gossipers are a wonderful resource for intelligence analysts; they always have a need to talk to others and feel special telling every minute detail about everyone else’s lives.  In my case, I had a neighbor whom I did not know come up to me in the yard and ask me some details about my child that my wife and I would rarely share with others.  After asking her further, I found that her source of information was from another neighbor who sometimes dropped by inside our home in order to use our telephone (and I think may have overheard a conversation I or my wife had on our cell phones.)  Needless to say, the phone has not been available to her since.
Take time to learn about your neighbors in the digital realm.  Checking local voter registration information and/or property tax rolls can often provide names and addresses of the people around you.  You can cross-check their information (names, addresses, telephone numbers, etc.) through search engines, criminal and sex-offender databases, and information collection sources (such a Pipl, LinkedIn, Zabasearch, etc.) Perhaps your state may catalog concealed weapon license holders.  Look for social networking sites where they may reveal more information about their lives (and the lives of those around them.)  Do not forget to check the social networks for their (and your) children, as well as their linked friends as well.  Some people with bad intentions have a tendency to broadcast this information through these methods.

Create the Intelligence Report

With several pieces of data collected on the subdivision, the prepper can now develop intelligence reports that can aid him or her in readying for emergency situations.  The thing about intelligence products is that it is tailored to the needs of the person requesting the information.  When I developed a number of reports during my military time, I usually made them to answer specific questions that were posed to me.  Some questions you may need answered could include:

  1. What are the most dangerous locations in my subdivision?
  2. What person(s) can I depend on during an emergency?  How can I get to him or her?
  3. Are there any persons to keep a lookout for during emergency situations?
  4. What are the various ways to get in and out of the neighborhood under stealth conditions?
  5. What can be seen inside of my home during the day?  At night? 
  6. How many direct lines of sight lead to my property?  How can I mitigate that situation?
  7. Is there something on my property that can attract “special” attention from others
  8. Do I have a property feature that is outside of the norm for my neighborhood?
  9. Do the police and/or security patrol near my home?  If not, how can I address that?
  10. What areas of the neighborhood give me the best vantage point for spotting outsiders?
  11. Who in the neighborhood may be armed? 
  12. Who in my neighborhood is trained in specific skills that can be useful for my needs?
  13. Are there other preppers that I can network with in my neighborhood?
  14. How is the power grid routed in my neighborhood?  Can certain portions lose power while others retain theirs? 
  15. What is the biggest potential threat to my subdivision?  What is the most likely threat?

Hopefully these suggestions can help preppers who, for one reason or another, enhance their readiness for surviving an emergency in suburban areas.  In a later post, I hope to include factors that can be used for those who may face emergencies while living in an urban area.



Preparedness Essentials, by F.M.H.

I found myself in a rather uncomfortable and vulnerable position. Hurricane Frederic hit Mobile, Alabama in September 1979. I thought it was going to be exciting. In fact several friends of mine had a party the night before Frederic made landfall. There was no preparation made on my part for this hurricane. I had no anxiety and could have cared less. At the time I didn’t even have a gun. I had barely a quarter of a tank of gas in my car. I did not have a battery operated radio or a flashlight. There was very little non-perishable food in my pantry and a small amount of food in the fridge. I had no idea about hurricane preparation and I did not heed the warnings issued. My family lived in north Alabama about six hours away so I was on my own.

Well, Hurricane Frederic made landfall and it was very destructive. The winds were fierce and the rain was relentless. A large pine tree fell on my house. Many trees were downed throughout the city proper and county making it extremely difficult to navigate. Electricity was out for most of Mobile County so there was no way to obtain gas to fill my car up. Price gouging was rampant – a bag of ice was selling for $10 or more, that is if you could find some. Most of the stores were emptied out prior to the storm. I had never experienced power outages on this scale. My home did not have power restored for 22 days. What little food I had in the fridge if not eaten in 24 hrs was ruined. There was also a curfew imposed by the National Guard. There were very long lines for ice and emergency food being distributed by the National Guard. Fights broke out and looting was rampant. 

I was stuck in a very hot house every night. We were afraid to leave the windows open because of all the looting. Luckily I did have a gas water heater and fortunately the gas was never turned off. My home was a popular stop off for friends who wanted a hot shower. For a few days my neighbors shared what perishable food they had and there were nightly cookouts until the food ran out. I ate well in the beginning. Several weeks later I was finally able to get some food supplies and batteries thanks to my family. My brother drove to Mobile with a well-received load of supplies for me. Federal assistance was slow to arrive and I was feeling desperate still I was luckier than most folks. I made so many stupid mistakes. It was an extremely miserable time that I will never forget. I made a promise to myself to never let that happen again. I was not going to be a helpless victim especially when this could have been avoided with some minimal preparation. And I certainly was not going to depend on any government assistance.

Since Hurricane Frederic I have experienced a number of hurricanes over the years including Ivan and Katrina. I also went through a house fire in 2009. The house fire started due to a lightning strike. It totaled my home. I had to start all over on my emergency kit. The good news is that I was able to rebuild my home and fortify it against category four hurricane winds. This also helped me keep my homeowners insurance at a more affordable rate. But I have learned some valuable lessons.

Preparing
In this article I will share with you how I now prepare for emergencies since my dreadful days during Hurricane Frederic in 1979. 
I first came up with a list of what emergency items I might need. I kept adding to the list after reading a number of survival books and blogs.
Initially it was frustrating because I wanted everything right now. But I had to sit back and realize it was going to be a slow process. Each month I purchased a few items from my list.
It has taken awhile to obtain what I currently have and my emergency kit is not complete yet. But as I add items I feel more confident. As with most people I had to budget purchasing my emergency items. But you have to start somewhere. Now I do not feel so vulnerable. I feel that I can protect and provide for my family. Even though they think I’m a little weird prepping for the unknown. But whenever the power goes off they come to me for flashlights and lanterns. They expect me to take care of them and have even commented they would have been disappointed in me had I not been prepared.

First thing – I always fill my gas tank up when the gauge nears the halfway mark. You never know when you are going to get stuck in a traffic jam.
I also have (5) five gallon empty gas cans in my garage attic and I fill them up at the early stages of a potential tropical storm. If the storm doesn’t materialize I just put the gas in my cars so nothing is wasted. You simply
cannot wait until the storm becomes a hurricane. By then there are long lines at the gas stations and shelves are emptied at the grocery stores.

I purchased a Honda 3000 watt generator that I can plug it into my electrical system. The generator is attached to a heavy chain and locked in place for security. I run the generator for several hours every month to ensure it is in good working order. I also have a small window A/C unit stored in the garage so I can have a cool room to sleep in at night. The generator is mainly to keep my refrigerator and freezer running.
My pantry is kept stocked with at least a month of food – canned goods, peanut butter, crackers, granola bars and dehydrated foods. As a backup I have a closet stocked with long shelf life freeze dried foods.
I have a several six gallon water jugs along with five collapsible one gallon water jugs. I keep a minimum of six cases of bottled water on hand. I have several Aquamira frontier water systems, life-straw, and polar pure water treatment. I fill up both bathtubs and all of my sinks. I recently located a nearby water stream within walking distance from my home. Remember folks a water supply is extremely important. You can go longer without eating than you can without drinking water.

I keep a three month supply of AA, AAA, C, D, and Nine Volt batteries. I have several battery/solar powered short wave radios along with a ham radio. I keep a wind up watch in my emergency pack.
I started out simply with a hurricane kit to get me through at a minimum of 3 to 4 days of survival. Now it has evolved to a more elaborate emergency kit. My goal is to be able to survive at a minimum of three to six months. In this emergency kit there is duct tape, Paracord – various lengths, snakebite kit, hatchet, 15″ knife, 18″ machete, hiking shoes, solar link radio, binoculars, first aid kit, machete, manual can opener, rain ponchos, tarp, wet fire starting tinder, blast match fire starter, bacterial soap, toilet paper, spork eating utensil, haululite ketalist tea kettle, outdoor 10″ fry pan, siphon pump, emergency tent, emergency blankets, nine volt battery with steel wool-(you can easily start a fire with these two items), and camping cookware. I plan on getting some seeds so in the case of a long lived disaster I can grow my own vegetables. I already have several fruit trees in my backyard.

I inventory all of my emergency items monthly and refresh the list when needed. I also include a note where each item is stored. All of my important papers are kept in a fireproof/ waterproof safe.

I have ammo stored in watertight ammo cans. I clean my weapons on a regular basis. There are plenty of flashlights and lanterns. I keep small flashlights and lanterns throughout my home and garage. There are several battery powered fans to use during the day.

I have a grill and an Emberlit stove for backup in case the gas company shuts down our gas supply. I have a camp stove coffee maker so I can start my mornings with my caffeine fix. I practice using a flint/steel fire starter and my Emberlit stove. It’s good to learn how to use your emergency equipment when there is no emergency rather than wait until there is one. That also includes going to a range and firing your pistols and rifles.

I have a corded phone stored in my emergency kit. Cordless phones will not function without electricity and I have experienced problems with spotty cell phone usage during hurricanes. For some reason land line phones have always worked for me.

I have precut plywood and each piece is numbered so I don’t have to wonder which piece goes to each outside window. I use plylox brackets to quickly and easily insert the precut plywood to protect my outside windows.

I have my rear and garage doors hinged so they open outward making it difficult for hurricane force winds or humans to force the doors inward. Although my front door does open inward I brace it at night with a buddy bar. There have been a number of home invasions in our county occurring at night. It usually involves kicking in the front door and before you can react they are in your bedroom. I also have shutters on every inside window for privacy and it also helps keep cooling costs down. I decided to use spray foam instead of the traditional insulation in my attic. Even in the hottest month my attic is never more than 84 degrees. When the power is out my home should not heat up like most houses.

I have several neighbors close by that I keep in touch with. We have agreed to help each other out if need be. There is strength in numbers. I recently installed a wireless detector alerting me if anyone walks up my driveway to the back of my home. I plan on getting two way radios so I can easily keep in touch with my family and neighbors. My biggest fear is of people becoming desperate and dangerous. From my research it appears to only take several days for some folks to begin looting and killing. Once that begins it multiplies. I want to be able to protect my family at all costs. So ammunition and additional firepower are priorities for me. Most of my emergency items are stored in a backpack and a rolling canvas bag should I need to bug out quickly.

My pipe dream is to buy some land in a wooded area near water. I would build a small but comfortable shelter and an underground bunker. But that is only a dream and not in my budget so I plan to survive with my current method.



Letter Re: Long Term Public Employee Pension Obligations

Sir:
Bob G. wrote on July 19th regarding pension obligations for retired government workers.  The implication seemed to be that they are excessively generous and should be cut.  I am a retired teacher and a taxpayer, so I have two dogs in this fight.  As a taxpayer, I want to hold the line on government spending.  As a retiree, I depend on the money I was promised for my livelihood.
Pensions are a contractual obligation backed by the ‘full faith and credit’ of government.  If government had properly funded the liability in the first place, the money to pay pensions would be there today.  That it is not cannot be laid at the feet of the retiree.  In Maine, at least, we paid in to our pension system with every check.  The state’s contribution must be considered as deferred income, money we earned but were not paid at the time.  I took a pay cut to become a teacher because I felt it was a job that needed doing.  I did so with the understanding that my retirement was secure.  After 25 years, I receive 50% of my pay before deductions for health care, taxes and so forth.

Many state and local governments spent the money they should have set aside for pensions on other things.  As a result, for example, retirees have lost our cost of living allowance (COLA).  As time goes by, this could become a serious problem for many of us. 

A contract is a contract.  People like me planned their lives around the promises that were made.  I can’t go back and get another career.  In this economy, I can’t even get a job!  The money I receive from my pension is money I earned over a lifetime of hard work.  Good teachers put in as much time outside of school as they do in the classroom: in my case, about 60 hours a week, twelve months a year. 
If spending cuts are necessary, negotiate different arrangements in future and ensure they are fully funded.  And maybe, just maybe, before you cut pensions we should take a look at benefits that are paid but not earned. – Randy in Maine

JWR Replies: I agree that contractual promises should be kept. Obviously, what needs to be implemented are two tier systems. Any new hires would be enrolled in a scaled-back retirement system. The key change would be that retirement payments would not begin until age 65.



Economics and Investing:

Reader M.E.W. suggested: The Federal Reserve Is Not Going To Save Us From The Great Depression That Is Coming

Default? U.S. Post Office Might Miss Retirees’ Payment. (Thanks to SurvivalBlog’s G.G. for the link.)

Items from The Economatrix:

Psychopaths Caused The Financial Crisis…And They Will Do It Again And Again Unless They Are Removed From Power

Beginning Sovereign Debt Crisis Endgame, Attack of the Zombie Banks and the New Religion of Europe

These 12 Hellholes are Examples of What the Rest of America Will Look Like Soon

Bad Economic Signs 2012s