The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

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”. The Venezuelan government has effectively taken control of the water distribution now.

Walking on Water

The Odds ‘n Sods entry last week on using a paddle board as an emergency water crossing device created a few interesting comments. What happens when you have more than just yourself to get across the body of water? What if it’s your entire family or your gear? Reader G.P. sent in this video that he found on a non-inflatable mat that literally lets you walk on water. The mat is made of a closed cell foam and rolls up for relatively easy transportation. While not as small as an inflatable raft in the stored position, the closed-cell foam will support up to 1200 pounds of people and/or equipment and doesn’t suffer from puncture problems. Hey, this might be a fun water toy to have that doubles as an emergency life raft.

Ransom Demands

Hackers are now heavily targeting municipal computer systems across the U.S. Large cities like Atlanta, tiny towns and even a library system in St. Louis have all been hit by the ransomware hacking. Local governments are forced to spend money on data recover, insurance and in some cases online extortion if the IT department can’t recover the data. Public-sector attacks are outpacing private-sector attacks at this point. It is generally thought that hackers don’t target specific cities, rather they simply search for vulnerabilities. It is also not believed that this is the work of nationstates. Instead, is is just cybercriminals. make sure you have changed any default passwords on any computer or device that you have control over!

NSA

Sent in by DSV: The NSA’s Hidden Spy Hubs in Eight U.S. Cities

Florida Governor Candidate Wants to Outlaw Rifles

Gwen Graham, daughter of former governor Bob Graham and Florida Democratic governor candidate, pledged this week to rule by decree if he is elected. Her proclamation:

“My commitment to you is action, not words. I have found a public safety statute that allows the Governor, whoever she may be, to sign an executive order for public safety reasons banning the sale of military assault weapons,”

Of course, true military assault weapons are already banned unless you have the necessary FFL licensing, but we all know what she really means is “weapons that look like military assault weapons”.

New Jersey Stupidity

New Jersey Assembly Bill 2761 was recently passed into law in that state which effectively tightened the already strict gun control laws. Any weapon that holds more than 10 rounds is now considered contraband. The citizens have 180 days to get rid of the weapon, render it inoperable, modify it for less than 10 rounds or surrender the weapon (or magazine) to authorities without compensation. The voluntary surrender option is also difficult. The person has to give advanced written notice which includes the proposed date and time of surrender or they are declared a criminal by the state. With the stroke of a pen, the government created a whole new class of criminals one million strong.

Venezuela

In typical socialist government style, the Army in Venezuela has taken control over the public water spigots in Caracas. Seven of the major water access points in the capital are now run by soldiers who direct the water delivery trucks where to take their deliveries. The city’s water delivery system is in shambles as the city doesn’t have the money to effect repairs on broken pipes so the trucks are the last resort on water delivery. The repair crews have dwindled from 400 employees to only about 40 and most of the pumps are barely working. One report says that only 27 percent of families have continuous access to safe water. More than 6y5 percent only had access less than three days a week.

The military is charging an average of 18 million bolivars to fill a residential tank. Larger tanks cost up to 50 million bolivars. While that is equivalent to only $17 USD, it’s pretty steep when your monthly income is only $1 USD. The military also does not compensate the truck drivers whose trucks they commandeer. Thanks to H.L. for the link.

Survival Realty

Our sister site, Survival Realty has a very affordable cabin on almost three acres for sale. The cabin is small, but suitable for an individual or couple and is about six miles from the closest town. There are 5000 acres of open conservancy land surrounding a nearby lake which is open to public hunting. If you can’t move out of Ohio because of your job or family, you might want to take a look at this place.

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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!