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”.

FNS-40

Reader DSV sent in this article that details the problems some police departments are having with the FN FNS-40 service pistol. Apparently, the weapons are occasionally discharging on their own with no shooter input. Several officers have been hurt by weapons that have discharged while still in their holsters and a few others have been hurt by other situations. At his time, no incident has been reported where the weapon discharges while in active use. the Arizona Department of Public Safety has issued several warnings over the issue to police departments that use that weapon. If you own one of these, you may want to follow this story closely.

Hunger

A recent poll of Venezuelan citizens has some interesting results. Despite other polls that have determined that Venezuelans do not want foreign intervention, hunger seems to be a major motivator. Nearly 30% of people are eating only once a day and almost 75% of the population is having trouble feeding themselves on a daily basis. These same people are willing to tolerate foreign intervention as long as it brings food into the country. A significant portion of the people are also willing to expatriate if Maduro stays in power and the economic crises continues. thanks to H.L. for the link.

Nuclear Emergency

Tropical storm Florence has caused some problems with the Brunswick nuclear plant. Due to the amount of rainfall, access to many parts of the plant is difficult at best and some arieas are impassible. The plant has been declared an “unusual event” which is the lowest level of emergency that can be declared on a nuclear site. it should be noted that the plant is stable and poses no danger to the public, but the staff’s inabilility to access the whole acreage in personal vehicles is concerning. Thanks to G.P. for the link.

The Cost of Illegals

Reader DSV sent in this article that digs into the actual costs of the illegal alien problem in the United States. The study finds that in the years between 2010 and 2015, the overal cost of criminal activity was $2.5 billion per year and $15 Billion total. This included 33,000 homicides, 1500 terrorism related crimes, and nearly 700,000 assaults, sex, and kidnapping crimes. There were also more than one million drug crimes. In all, there were 4.9 million arrests for over 7.5 million crimes. I would think that with numbers like these, the expense of building a wall would be easy to justify.

Free Speech

I am occasionally reminded of why the First Amendment to our Constitution is so important. Recently, in the Netherlands, a Dutch citizen was prosecuted by the dutch authorities because he insulted Ergodan, the leader of Turkey, through an email. Yep, you read that right. A sovereign citizen of one country was charged and prosecuted for insulting a foreign nation’s leader. I can’t condone the words he used in the email, but the whole concept is absurd. Thanks to A.D. for the link.

Costco Scam

A California police department has put out a notice that they are seeing an increase in phishing scams. In the latest edition, the caller pretends to be a representative from Costco and asks the receiver to participate in a survey. As the survey progresses, they ask enough private information questions where thei identity of the callee can be compromised. Don’t fall for this one. In fact, it’s best if you just don’t give out pernal information over the phone if at all possible.

Lessons Learned

Reader T.J. sent in this video where Reid Henrichs, of Valor Ridge talks about the lessons learned from the recent shootout in Denver. In particular, the calmness of the officer who got shot was an example of good police training. He was able to fire while on the move and strike his target at a significant distance. he also maintained excellent muzzle discipline as one of his fellow officers walked in front of his gun. This is a good breakdown of training that pays off when the pressure is on.

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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!