SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “HJL”. Was Hawaii hacked? An exposed password may have allowed it.
Hawaii Hacked?
Human engineering, the bane of system administrators the world over has struck again. The Associated Press had a photo from inside Hawaii’s emergency management agency that showed a post-it note attached to a window with a critical password written on it. You would think that agencies would at least circulate a memo and/or give a warning to employees about leaving such information out in the open when visitors are in the center. The logical position is to ban such behavior, but humans, being what they are, will simply ignore such bans. Thanks to P.S. for the link.
Venezuela Money
The socialist utopia of Venezuela’s money has now basically stopped working. The store shelves are empty anyways, but one can apparently find 20-bolivar bills strewn about the trash. The small denomination isn’t even worth the paper it is printed on. As the article points out, looters won’t even stop to pick them up. Each on of those bills (officially pegged at $2 USD) is worth on $0.0001. Humorously, when you point out the failure of Venezuela to an American socialist proponent, you get the standard pat answer: “It wasn’t implemented right”. Thanks to S.R. for the link.
Fleeing Christians
Reader D.B. sent in this article from Breitbart on how the “religion of peace” is doing in Pakistan. Apparently, things are so peaceful there that Christians and other minorities (Ahmadis, Hindus, and more) are fleeing by the thousands due to harassment. Even atheists have now gone quiet in Pakistan. The government uses is “anti-blasphemy” law, which carries a a sentence of life imprison or even death to target religious minorities, mainly Christians. An Islamabad High Court has even decreed that blasphemers are terrorists.
Bees
As if the threats of genetically modified organisms and pesticides weren’t enough, you can add teenagers to the threat on Bees. Reader H.L. adds:
In addition to doing community chores under watchful eye of an adult official, the parents need to make financial restitution, even if they have to borrow, or sell something to do it. Parents need to be financially responsible for what teens do in most cases. If these boys are not judged “mentally incompetent”, and just behaving badly because they were not taught from early age to leave alone anything that does not belong to them, then parents must pay. Too many children are being raised by other children and on line/including trashy TV electronic devices. The word parent means that one must put parenting first, otherwise don’t have children!
New Jersey Gun Bill
For those interested, reader DSV sent in the link to the latest anti-gun bill from New Jersey.
Gun Store Burglaries
The BATF has released a report that recognizes for the fifth straight year in a row, the reported burglaries at gun stores across the United States is surging. The report identifies that part of the problem exists because there is no standard for the storage of firearms and/or the installation of security alarms, though I think you would be hard pressed to make an actual link there. Nowhere in the report does it address the general decline of morals and ethics in the population. Thanks to H.L. for the link.
Governments and Taxes
Reader G.M. sent in this article from Armstrong Economics that shows how the hunt for taxes brings down governments every time. As the population feels the pressure from the government over paying more and more taxes, support for that government declines and eventually the government collapses because the people just won’t support it. It either spend sits way into oblivion or it is taken down by outside forces due to non-support of the people. It is an interesting read.
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Please send your news tips to HJL. (Either via e-mail of via our Contact form.) These are often especially relevant, because they come from folks who watch news that is important to them. Due to their diligence and focus, we benefit from fresh “on target” news. We often “get the scoop” on news that is most likely ignored (or reported late) by mainstream American news outlets. Thanks!
“Nowhere in the report does it address the general decline of morals and ethics in the population.”
If it did I’m pretty sure the Left would call the report “racist”.
re: Gun store robberies/burglaries:
Another factor which may escalate such crime is the growing number of restrictive laws imposed upon those who obey the laws. In my state it has become a crime to loan, buy or sell a firearm without government involvement.
As lawless persons see guns as their ‘means of raising funds,’ their desire to ‘grow their businesses’ seek for the larger ‘bang for their buck.'(pun intended)
Guns in general are a target for theft. I live in a depressed rural area. One huge problem is gossip. Be careful who knows what firearms you own. A lot of gun owners like to brag about what they own. It may make you a target for burglary. I recommend going to gun clubs away from where you live just for this reason. A high number of thefts are from vehicles as well.
Gun Store Burglaries
As with all banned things, the more difficult it becomes to acquire an item the more fruitful its acquisition (theft) and sale become. Therefor, an item’s high value becomes worth the risk of violence to acquire, transport, and (re)sell. With each new gun control law this will get worse, much worse. Prohibition doesn’t work.
(In this case we can set aside an argument about the intrinsic value of firearms. This ain’t Lawn Darts.)