The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

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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”. Hawaii emulates the U.K. with their descriptions of a “large” cache of weapons

Hospital of Horrors

I tend to think of South Africa as a relatively advanced country, but this article sent in by reader S.M. makes a person realize just how bad things are there. Apparently, in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa, the conditions are so bad that the local hospital has a serious problem with feral cats. Up to 150 cats have made the general ward their home, often climbing into bed with the patients and stealing their food. The hospital does not have the funds to forcibly remove the cats, nor is anyone willing to donate the costs associated with capturing and putting the feral cats down (feral cats evidently can’t be re-homed)

“Large” Cache of Weapons Found in Waikiki

If it weren’t so annoying, I might actually class this one as mildly humorous. As it is, I have come to expect this sort of reporting from the UK, but I am still surprised to see it in the U.S. The “large” cache of weapons turns out to be an AR-15 with 15 standard-capacity magazines, a shotgun, two handguns and less than 1000 rounds of ammunition. All in all, a good start on a single person’s load-out for a defensive mission. A bit on the anemic side if anything. All the weapons were legal to own. One more reason to use good OPSEC no matter what you have. If the report is to be believed, he brought the scrutiny on himself by bragging about things he shouldn’t have. Thanks to DSV for the link.

Limit Your Kids Screen Time

I don’t necessarily buy into the hype surrounding the potential dangers of RF energy outlined in this article on modern electronics sent in by reader DSV, but the concepts of how software designers have deliberately created software and products that lead to “digital addiction” is a real problem. When I was a child, we spent our summers outside with our imagination. Now, you can’t hardly pry kids away from the TV set or their games. On a recent visit we had from a friend, the teenage daughter literally spent hours in our bathroom, obviously on on her phone. I think its just makes good sense to limit your child’s access to electronic gadgets to a moderate level. At least make sure they are obtaining a functioning level of social manners.

Banning all Gun and Archery Clubs in New York Schools

New York Democrat Linda Rosenthal has introduced legislation that would ban all shooting sports from New York schools, claiming that the the sports spread “the gun culture”. Under the proposed legislation, even air rifle competitions and archery would be banned. Hopefully, those with more sense will kill that legislation quickly, but since the passage of the SAFE act, it would seem all bets are off. I sometimes wonder if it is a requirement of the liberal/progressive left to check their brains at the door when they enter public service. Thanks to G.P. for the link.

EBT Down

Reader H.L. sent in this link to a website that monitors outages in the nation’s SNAP EBT (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Electronic Benefit Transfer – it replaces the old food stamps). This may be a worthwhile resource to keep on hand before you make your drive into the city. It’s well known that any longer term outage, even at a regional level, brings out the worst behavior in people. Several instances of outages in the past have resulted in near riots and the pillaging of stores, even when the outage was only a few days long. If you’re making the trip into town, check this website before you go – Especially if you are traveling long distances. As a side note, the comments are amusing at times.

Severing Ties with Dick’s Sporting Goods

What goes around eventually comes around, as the saying goes. Dicks Sporting Goods was happy to make a buck off of those who were willing to spend their money there, but they have also led in the anti-gun charge with their public announcements and policies on AR-style firearms. Now several gun manufacturers are severing ties with them. Mossberg has said they will no longer accept future orders from Dick’s Sporting Goods or Field & Stream and they are currently reviewing current contractual obligations. KS Supply (Hi-Point) is also parting ways with them. Springfield Armory has also made a similar move. The national Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) has also expelled Dick’s from their organization. Thanks to G.G. for the link.

o o o

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!


34 Comments

  1. Regarding feral cats in South African hospital. i fully understand their problem! As a decades long rescuer of cats, and working with people who spay/neuter/vaccinate feral cats, I can attest that it is a real problem in parts of the USA! Even with low cost s/n clinics, and some with mobile vans that come to your area, it is still financially beyond the reach of many U.S. residents. Plus, sadly, many do not want to spend discretionary income on helping to s/n cats. If they would just realize that the ONE dumped female cat (often young and friendly) and a roaming male from even several miles away, will soon result in dozens of feral kittens who will starting breeding before they are a year old. I suspect that this hospital has open doors or windows and of course, the cats are going to get in. Perhaps the first order of business is to install doors and at least screens so that the cats cannot get in. In every town and city in USA, behind strip malls, restaurants, Walmart, city alleys, farms and fields etc. can be feral cats. You may not see them, but they are often there and are fed by well intended people. Plus, they are excellent hunters! Feral cats are on every continent except South Pole. Some poison them. Horrible death and it can kill wildlife and birds. So, if you are inclined to donate to a charity, I think that you can find a cat rescue group in your area that does HUMANE trapping of ferals and s/n them. If a colony consists of s/n cats, it will soon die out, UNLESS some uncaring person (often moving) dumps an unaltered cat. (I have also rescued dumped dogs when living in a lovely somewhat Southern State and worked with the local rural humane society to improve the shelter experience in my country. If you cannot donate $$$, perhaps you can call your local Animal Shelter and see if they need some towels, or food, or HELP with a fund raiser. There are ways to help your local Shelter and Rescue Groups without having to spend a lot of money.) Finally, in America MOST city and town animal shelters ONLY take dogs. Dogs are covered under the law, but in most cases cats are NOT. Cats are considered “free roaming” animals since they are ace hunters and dogs have had the real hunting ability bred out of them over thousands of years. As an elderly person now, having been raised on a large farm, I somewhat judge the HUMANITY & ADVANCEMENT of a country by how it takes care of its pets: cats, dogs, birds, small and furry, even pet fish. One thing I have long since learned about animals is that most are intelligent and they DO have emotions, and they do NOT lie or CHEAT. The most dangerous animal on the Earth is the human, though we also can do the most good we want to. May we all do some “good” in our lifetime. Now back to petting one of my cats!

    1. I tend to judge the Humanity & Advancement of a country by how many children are abandoned or aborted each year. Doesn’t say much for US does it?

  2. You’d think at some point after watching the HUGE loss of business at Target and others retailers would get enough brains to keep their mouths shut and their libtard opinions off the public radar but I guess not.

  6. RE: Dick’s, Sadly a local (Oregon Washington) employee owned store called Bi-Mart has also chosen to place a 21 years of age for firearms purchases signage on their doors as well. Pat Cascio is certainly familiar with this local chain. When I asked a store employee about this, they said it was a ‘board’ decision.

    1. In regard to Bimart’s disrespect for our young military men and women as well as all 18-21 year old adults, I am shocked. Been a member since 1962. Since this is a board decision Looks like a good time to remove them. I wonder what other members and their employees think about this. I also wonder what the employees think about what this will do to their retirement income. Virtue signaling will be the death of any business that alienates 50% of their customers. Do businesses that do this think we do not have other places to spend our money? Bowing to a minority of your customers makes absolutely no sense, while the news cycle is short, your former customers have very long memories, long enough to dance on your graves.

  8. As far as Dick’s sporting goods, we dropped doing any business with them when they banned AR sales in 2012 after the school shooting in Sandy Hook even before the state passed the law banning them here.

  9. It would be nice if the Snap/EBT site could send out warnings at least to people in a state where there is a problem. It might save some lives.

  13. It is worthwhile noting that, according to news reports about the Hawaiian hotel incident, that the man was taken to hospital and the weapons confiscated, even though police stated he had done nothing illegal. The decision to do so was predicated on the presence of a legal prescription for a “psychoactive” drug, as well as his comments on social media. In other words, if you have a prescription for an anxiety or sleep issue, and are found to be in possession of a weapon, law enforcement may use that as an excuse for involuntary mental health commitment. Such an involuntary commitment will likely last only twenty-four to seventy-two hours, but may result in an lengthy legal battle to get the confiscated weapons released, and may have an impact on future ability to legally purchase a firearm from a FFL dealer.

    To the wise advice of John Farnam, “don’t go stupid places, with stupid people or do stupid things”, I would add “don’t post stupid things on social media”, and also consider carefully what medications you take, particularly those all too freely prescribed by doctors that can alter or shape your behavior and thinking. Consider that many of the recent mass murderers were previously prescribed psychoactive medications that may cause suicidal or homicidal thinking.

  15. I once bought ammo at a Dick’s here in Texas, but after the Sandy Hook thing, I left and never looked back. I didn’t need a $300 wind breaker anyway. I never saw more than three to five customers in there at any one time. The staff at Sportsmans’ Warehouse would talk about how they didn’t stock the evil black rifles and didn’t need to, and now their former store is inhabited by another outdoor outfit that is also not long for this world. The anti-gunners play their games, and so do we. I have all the enemies I will ever need, but the corporate morons who delve into leftist mythology don’t seem to understand basic business operations. One basic rule is to make every person in town feel relaxed and welcome in your store, even if they don’t frequent it often. The people who come there frequently should be greeted with just what they were looking for in the inventory, or related things that can be bought on impulse. I buy my shoes and a lot of the ammo I’m looking for at Academy now, and I don’t get no politics with them.

  16. Re: Stores refusing to sell guns to those under age 21.
    In states where it is legal for those under 21 to purchase firearms and where an 18 year old is considered an adult for purposes of buying, selling, and entering into legally binding contracts, could it be illegal “age discrimination” to refuse sale. I’m just thinking out loud here – let’s see — two guys who did not want to buy anything hung around a Starbucks until they were arrested, then they accused the store manager of racism for following corporate policy, which then caused Starbucks to panic resulting in nation wide disruption of operations and costing Starbucks hundreds of thousands of dollars. This was done to a group of people that from Baristas to CEO most Americans would consider the nations most Progressive and least likely to be racist. I wonder if some similar chain of events would be started by some 19 or 20 year olds who did want to buy something, but would not be served, and then hung around until they were arrested! Humm, could that be followed up with lawsuits against the store?

  17. See this: http://dailycaller.com/2018/05/03/british-man-arrested-for-wielding-potato-peeler/

    And to think that these Brits are descendants of the same people “on whose empire the sun never set.” My, how times have changed. Brits are now, with only few exceptions, a nation of sheeple.

    A few years ago, a news article was making the rounds on the internet. It involved a local British village’s newspaper report of a single .22 LR cartridge that was found on a local street. (Yes, the discovery of this one cartridge was newsworthy.) See http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/8805022.Fossgate_bullet_find_mystery/

    Don’t worry about this calamitous threat to public safety in “this blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England” by the discovery of this single bullet. The article assured readers that “A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said the bullet had been put into safe storage…”

    What more need to be said about the destruction of the British mindset and character?

    About the refusal of some stores to sell guns to those under 21, these decisions are likely to be challenged as being discrimination based on age. Any 18-year-old who has the right to influence the outcome of an election, much less to serve in the military, seems to have an excellent argument about the right to purchase a gun.

    In any event, to be fair and balanced here, if 18-year-olds are barred from purchasing guns, should the Parkland teenagers, many of whom are much younger than 18, have their opinions barred when adults are discussing the gun control issue?

    Just sayin’.

  18. I wouldn’t enter our local Dick’s sporting goods store if they were giving away free stuff. Nothing but a bunch of bobble headed Yuppies working in there.

  21. Re Dicks …. Not gun-related, but funny as heck:

    Saw a pic of a strip mall sign which had the anchor store’s signs on it, top to bottom.
    From the top –

    Kohls
    Staples
    Dicks

  22. The guy with the guns: if the news is to be believed he has psychiatric drugs , not psychoactive drugs. There is a difference. Psychiatric drugs are to help people to avoid being too crazy. They also said he posted that he was a federal agent hunting terrorists.

    This is exactly the kind of person that I don’t want anywhere near a gun .

    However I think there must be due process. Obama ,you will recall, wanted to deny people on the no fly list from buying guns. He never said what he would do about any guns they owned. He was unconcerned with due process .

    I think almost everyone can agree that crazy people shouldn’t have firearms, but there must be a neutral magistrate and constitutional protections- for everyone.

  23. It is impossible to re-home feral cats! So the thirty or so that live in my barns must never have been feral! The local society knows I am a soft touch for cats and I am first call for the wild ones. Everyone goes to the Vet for an “everything” and once healthy goes to the farm. The biggest problem is not stepping on any of these “WILD” animals at feeding time!

    I would guess that hospital has more problems than cats! What about all the other critters, insects, maggots, etc., coming and going at will?

  24. Re: Dummy in Waikiki. News reporting he made “threatening posts” . I think a maid probably spotted the weapons a d called it in. Maids turn in a lot of calls in Waikiki. Spent a number years the as LEO.

  25. I wonder if I should go to my Local Neighborhood’s Dicks and offer to buy their EBR stock (assuming there are any left) at bankruptcy prices. Think they’d sell to a 60+y.o. white cisgender married working taxpaying Christian male?

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