Fitness for Success When the SHTF– Part 1, by JPM

The ancient Greeks probably were the people with the highest emphasis on physical fitness. In fact, their great athletes were worshipped as gods. Hence, we have the Olympic games. Over the ages, people have always had respect for physical exercise and practiced it. But in modern days, we see a shocking amount of obesity; it is on an unprecedented scale, and it’s not a good thing. Those of us preparing for TEOTWAWKI know that we need equipment. We also know that gear without knowledge or training is useless, so we read manuals and attend classes and courses and so on that teach us how to utilize our gadgets. However, the part that we sometimes forget about is also the most important part: you. We all know what we are going to do when things get bad. Most of us have a plan, but we often underestimate our own ability to carry out these plans. It’s like the time when we were kids and Dad said, “Be careful! Maybe I should carry that heavy box.” And we thought, “The old man is crazy! I got this.” For many of us, it was an embarrassing lesson. And so it is now: the worst happening is something we have already decided to face as a possibility, but it may take the breath out of us! Now, I’m no Olympian, but I do work hard to stay able to take on the day. In fact, if you were to ask me why I run long distances or am fanatic about pushups, my answer wouldn’t be “so I look good” (but this is a nice side effect!); it would be so that, when the situation arises where failure to be able to conquer whatever the difficulty is would have disastrous or life threatening consequences, I will not fail for lack of strength. So, here is my humble contribution to our realm of preparedness– a guide on practical fitness for when the SHTF.

A Note On Health

I have no intention of turning this into a nutrition class, but when it comes to physical fitness, a few things are worth mention and many go without saying.

Sleep

Nothing will drain you and totally ruin your long-term health faster than a shortage of sleep. Get at least six hours of sleep a night. The time you sleep is also important. Pick up a autobiography of a Navy SEAL or the like and you’re sure to find mention of Ambien or other sleep drugs. The reason is that he spends many hours of the night doing extremely high stress work and attempts to sleep during the day. Studies have proven that the most restful and healing sleep occurs between 10 and 2am, assuming that you are a normal human being on a regular schedule. This is because that is the way we are meant to function; that’s the way our biological clocks are calibrated. It doesn’t mean we can’t function under less than ideal circumstances or at less than ideal times. It means only that our performance won’t be as spectacular. So, don’t make a habit of staying up late and no all-night TV marathons! Lack of healthy sleep is also the fastest way to catch a cold or the flu, as it weakens your immune system.

Water

Without any question whatsoever, this is the one necessity for life that an absence of will kill you the quickest. At minimum you need half your body weight in ounces per day. (If you weigh 190 pounds, you need at least 95 ounces per day.) Plus, you need more with increased activity. The bottom line is if you are thirsty drink. In America, chronic dehydration is rampant, thanks in part to sugary (and corn syrup-filled) carbonated beverages. The reason is that the sweetener dehydrates you, and many people who drink these sodas are addicts. So, they reach for another to quench the thirst caused by the first. Also, thirst is commonly mistaken for hunger, so be sure to drink up before reaching for snacks. Lastly, drink water that is free of fluoride. There is no proof whatsoever that fluoride prevents cavities, and studies actually support that it is only harmful. The Nazis used it to keep the Jews complacent in the concentration camps; it is a brain-damaging substance and also attacks your gut and thyroid. City water also is just too unpredictable, with reports of drugs being “added” in certain places. In Europe, live polio virus was dumped into the Lasne River in Rixensart, Belgium by pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline, who claimed it was an accident. So, if you’re going to drink city water, purify it with a reliable system, such as a Propur system, which is American made and affordable: http://store.infowars.com/-Propur-Water-Filtration_c_53.html

Food

(Like I said, this isn’t a nutrition article so I will try to keep this brief; I can write more in depth on this in the future.) Food is our fuel. More important than eating enough is eating good food, and I don’t mean food that tastes good (although pretty much all foods taste delectable, I find that the ones that are healthy taste better than the ones that aren’t), I mean what is healthy. This could get long, so I’ll keep it to bullet points.

  • Eat organic. GMO foods are the product of the last 60 years, and they are a disaster. They cause infertility, cancer (on an epic scale), obesity, long-term disease in almost every body system, and more. Why would you eat something that is resistant to pesticides that kill people who come into contact with them? (You won’t hear about this in America. GMO is too big an industry to let that get out. But, just Google “African boy killed by pesticide”. He died within hours.) In fact, pesticide-resistant crops began when Monsanto found an organism that had survived in a puddle of the toxic waste from their pesticide production. Their brilliant idea was to stick the DNA from this lucky substance into seeds, and voila! We have GMO, Roundup-resistant crops. Another thing to consider is the fact that most all chronic diseases that exist today didn’t exist 150 years ago. They are, to a large degree, a product of the lifestyle of the city dweller of the 20-21st century. I could go on forever on this subject, so for this article, I’d better leave it there. The bottom line: make meals from scratch using organic ingredients.
  • Stay away from meals already prepared, as these are designed for long shelf life and to do so make use of non-organic preservatives and other harmful components. If your local store doesn’t have much of an organic selection (although organic is making a major comeback as people reject the GMO paradigm), you can make use of bulk nationwide suppliers. The one I and my family buy from is Azure Standard. They ship a huge selection of items and food across the U.S to drop points where you then pick up your order. If there isn’t a drop point, you can start one if you have people around you that are interested in making use of one, and if not for an extra cost you can have it delivered right to your residence. I recommend you request a catalog. To recap, organic is the way food was since the Creation of the Earth; the food man first consumed was organic. Why should we change that? Messing with our food in a lab (playing God) is not a very smart idea.

Breathing

You may think you already know how to breathe, but astonishingly there are a lot of people who are practicing detrimental breathing habits. I myself was one of them. Bad breathing habits make your exercise a real pain and limit your performance. For better workouts, follow these guidelines.

Most importantly, do what feels natural. Anything that feels restrictive can almost always be attributed to being counterproductive. Notice, though, that “almost” means almost. Learn to belly breathe, if you don’t already. Breathing with your upper chest is something many people do, but it doesn’t allow your lungs to expand as much as they could. When you inhale, concentrate on expanding your belly, not your upper chest. This increases the amount of air you can take in. Start learning to belly breathe now. Next time you inhale, do as stated above. I recommend breathing with your nose. When you think about it, it makes sense to use your nose: Nose breathing filters out dust and dirt. Mouth breathing or panting dehydrates you faster. Mouth breathing displaces your carbon dioxide level faster than is healthy.

When doing strength exercise, such as pushups, pull-ups, et cetera, inhale on the easy part of the rep (the “drop”), which in a pushup and a pull-up would be the drop down. In bench resting it would be when you drop the bar to your chest. Then exhale when you do the actual work. The expelling the air goes hand-in-hand with the expansion of your muscles as you do the rep. Inhaling on the work takes the energy you need for the rep away. During strength exercise, it is going to be hard to feel your belly expanding with your breath (because you will usually have your abdominals engaged in the exercise), but just focus on that pattern and you’ll do fine. When you run, a rhythm is just as important as how you breathe. Running wild without a tempo will exhaust you quickly, and you won’t get anywhere. Inhale for a count of three, which would be left-right-left, and then exhale for another count of three, right-left-right. Note that I am addressing running here; sprinting will involve more footfalls in one breath than this. But for running, this is a good, even tempo.

Letter Re: Pat Cascio’s Product Review: Beyond Locks

HJL,

Often missed in this sort of door up-armoring process are the hinges.

Assuming your door is set on its own rough framing (no sidelights), replace at least two hinge screws on the jamb side in each hinge with 4 1/2″ flathead stardrive heavy screws (through the finished jamb into the rough framing). In other words do the same thing you’re doing to the strike, fastening them deep and strong.

This works. When we first moved into our present quarters, I replaced the strike and hinge screws is this manner. About a month later my wife came home to find our door cracked and the lockset warped from an attempt to kick it in. Someone drove up, saw no one was home, and took a run at it. The door held and was repairable. (It is an old 1-7/8 inch, four panel, 4-light, solid hard pine beauty, I added top and bottom dead bolts after repairing the crack in the rail)

Also, examine the door side hinge screws. They are often laughably short. Bear in mind that most modern metal clad entry doors have side rail rarely wider than 1- 3/4″, so a real long screw is a waste.

Of course, for a really tough job, you can defy local building codes and hang your entry door so that it opens out (with blind or staked pin hinges). Bad guys can beat on that all day long, if you do it right. – Dollardog

Economics and Investing:

The War On Paper Currency Begins: ECB Votes To “Scrap” 500 Euro Bill – G.G. “Draghi: any ECB action on EU500 note is not about reducing cash. Translation: the ECB action is only about reducing physical cash, some 30% of it to be specific.”

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Central bankers ‘don’t have a clue’ – Jim Rogers – G.G.

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When Cash Is Outlawed… Only Outlaws Will Have Cash– Sent in by D.S.

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Percent of Total Wealth Owned in the United States: Bottom 40% control -0.9% Meaning Close to Half the Country has a Negative Net Worth.

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Items from Mr. Econocobas:

“You Should Be Very Worried, You Should Be Prepared” Warns Jim Rogers– Make sure to listen to the audio interview, and you can fast forward to the 39-minute mark, as the article points out that is where is gets interesting.

Items from Professor Preponomics:

US News

How the Government Buys Your Support (Mises) An excellent Mises article and timely follow up to ongoing SurvivalBlog coverage about egregious levels of wasteful government spending. Excerpt: “In Iraq and Afghanistan, US military officers routinely handed bundles of cash to local residents to buy influence and undermine resistance to the American occupation. Such payments came in especially handy after US troops inadvertently killed innocent civilians or sheep. Billions of dollars were shoveled out with little or no oversight as part of the Pentagon’s “Money as a Weapon System” program. In the same way, politicians have long relied on money as a weapon system to buy votes or to undermine resistance to Washington.”

Watchdogs Let Errant Feds Go Anonymous (Government Waste Fraud and Abuse) Excerpt: “Six of the top inspectors general (IG) — presidentially-appointed watchdogs tasked with fighting waste, fraud and abuse in the federal bureaucracy — withheld the names of government employees in 88 percent of the reports they issued over a six-month period.”

Capitol Portraits, a Perk of Access, Became a Symbol of Excess Instead (Taxpayers for Common Sense) Excerpt: “Families struggle to pay their mortgage and feed their families,” Mr. Cassidy said, “while the federal government spends money on paintings of government officials that are often placed in the back of a government bureaucracy, never to be seen by the public.” …but wait, there’s more. Examples of wasteful government spending just keep coming. Federal Spending Oversight Reports: Dr. Rand Paul Uncovers $15K Grant for Conference on Balding in Latest “The Waste Report”

International News

A Tempest of Fear: European Banks are in the Eye of a New Financial Storm (The Economist) Excerpt: “If the start of the year has been desperate for the world’s stockmarkets, it has been downright disastrous for shares in banks.”

A Massive Banking Crisis is Brewing in Singapore, Says Swiss Billionaire Zulauf(Yahoo Finance) Excerpt: “Speaking at the annual Barron’s roundtable, Swiss billionaire investor Felix Zulauf warned that Singapore’s largest banks are at risk of massive capital outflows if the Chinese economy experiences a hard landing, which he expects will happen this year.”

UK Business Gas Supplies Could Be Diverted to Households in Europe, Under EU Crisis Plan (The Telegraph) Excerpt: “A new “solidarity principle” would apply to gas supplies to ensure that households, healthcare and security services across Europe were maintained as a priority in the event of a severe crisis.”

Saudis and Russians Agree to Oil Output Freeze, Iran Still an Obstacle (Yahoo News) Excerpt: “OPEC member Iran, Saudi Arabia’s regional arch rival, has pledged to steeply increase output in the coming months as it looks to regain market share lost after years of international sanctions, which were lifted in January….” Reuters updates the developing story of Iran’s position related to oil output with this article: Iran Says Will Resist Curbs on Oil Output as Part of Global Pact

Personal Economics and Household Finance

10 Ways to Protect Your Social Security Number (Investopedia) Excerpt: “Identity theft thrives in the U.S. in part because Americans feel forced to use their SSN for so many types of interactions. Ultimately, it falls on individuals to protect their own number.”

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SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.

Odds ‘n Sods:

SurvivalBlog reader R.C. writes in with regards to JWR’s comment on purchasing PVC pipe and caps for burying caches on SurvivalBlog. Sportsman’s Guide has some used U.S. Military Surpolus M14A2 cylinders for sale.

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SurvivalBlog reader G.G. sent in this article on How to Survive Falling Through the Ice from The New York Times.

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State Supreme Court Rules That Cops Do Not Need Warrants To Enter Homes And Forcibly Seize Evidence – D.S.

JWR’s Comment: <Sarcasm On>Oh, well, now that we’ve been told that the polizei were just being friendly “Community Caretakers” when they kicked in that door, we can all rest easy–knowing that our rights are secure, and that we’ll live happily ever after… <Sarcasm Off> (Actually, this is gross display of the inverted logic of the jackbooted police in Terry Gilliam’s epic dystopic film Brazil.

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Missing Radioactive Material in Iraq Prompts Nationwide Search, ISIS Fears – submitted by T.A.

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SurvivalBlog reader Rick in Ohio wrote in:

The recent terrorist attack on the Nazareth Restaurant struck close to home. Many in our community know the owner and his family personally. His daughter recently posted the following:

“Yesterday when Shafi (on staff at Naz) came into Nazareth Restaurant & Deli all dressed up, my mom who was volunteering said, “You look so nice- do you have another job?” He said no, that he had just received his American citizenship! How exciting!! Just a few days before, Shafi was the guy who grabbed the baseball bat to defend the customers in the midst of the attack. My dad said that when he got his citizenship back in the late 80s, his friends gave him an apple pie, a toy car, and a baseball bat. Tonight we will present him with one of his own! (smile emoticon) I look forward to getting to know him more! We’re so happy for him”

God truly works in mysterious ways!

Notes for Wednesday – February 17, 2016

The Zelman Partisans contacted Ted Nugent to inquire about his offensive anti-Semitic Facebook post. This was the best possible outcome from the situation, and it was enthusiastically accepted. This should be an example to us of the dangers of social media. The graphic was indeed anti-Semitic, but whoever posted it for Ted didn’t pay attention. Kudos to Ted for recovering from this misstep.

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Today, we present another entry for Round 63 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case (a $1,700 value),
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate that is good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical 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,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chrome-lined barrel and a hard case to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel, which can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools and a compact carry capability in a hard case or 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. Gun Mag Warehouse is providing 20 Magpul PMAG 30-rd Magazines (a value of $300) and a Gun Mag Warehouse T-Shirt; (an equivalent prize will be awarded for residents in states with magazine restrictions),
  6. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  7. The Ark Institute is donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package (enough for two families of four) plus seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate (a $325 retail value),
  8. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  9. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating both an AquaBrick water filtration kit and a Stainless Medium Scout Kelly Kettle Complete Kit with a combined retail value of $304, and
  10. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Second Prize:

  1. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  2. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  3. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  4. A Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 value),
  5. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  6. A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value),
  7. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, and
  8. Safecastle is providing a package of 10 LifeStraws (a $200 value)

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A $245 gift certificate from custom knife-maker Jon Kelly Designs, of Eureka, Montana,
  3. 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,
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  7. Montie Gear is donating a Precision Rest (a $249 value), and
  8. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).

Round 63 ends on March 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.

How to Prepare a Refugee Bug Out Bag- Part 2, by Charles T.

  1. Cooking Supplies

    On the road or in a refugee camp you will need ways to prepare food. Preparing food almost always involves heat, usually provided through fire. When thinking about preparing food in a refugee type situation, you need to think a lot farther than you would for a typical camping situation. Anything that runs off gas or some sort of combustible liquid should be disqualified. Why? Because you will run out of fuel and end up throwing it out anyway. Don’t spend money on a fancy gas burning camping stove; it’s a waste, unless you go camping a lot for fun and then is a great investment. Instead, think about what resources you have locally for fuel.

    Most regions have wood available in some form or another. Wood burning stoves have been around as long as there has been fire. While simply starting a fire with a bunch of sticks on the ground and cooking over them could work, it is horribly inefficient and has a high risk of fire spreading out of control. Instead, look at building a small rocket stove or hobo stove. These can be carried with you and are low weight, if you make them out of the right materials. A rocket stove will use a small amount of fuel to quickly boil water or cook over. It can also be made to stably hold a few different size pots.

    Stoves that run off fire need a way to start the fire. A standard Bic lighter may last for a while, but eventually it runs out of fuel. Instead, look into a ferro strike rod, such as the Light My Fire 2.0 Army Swedish Firesteel. It last for about 12000 strikes, which will start a lot more fires than a Bic lighter.

    Once you have your heat source, think about what you need for cooking. A good gallon-size pot and a skillet should suffice for most families. The pot can be used for water purification and making soups, while the skillet can be used to cook meat or whatever you find. If the weight of both is too much, just keep the pot. Its bottom can be used as a skillet type surface. To keep your pots clean, use a scraper to clear any residue after use, and ideally have a small jar of oil to use for cleaning and maintaining your pans.

    For utensils, a lightweight wooden ladle and spatula would be invaluable and should cover most cooking needs. If you already have these at home, then just plan on grabbing them before you hit the road, unless you want to make a separate kit that you keep ready for an emergency evacuation. Each person in your family should have a spork and cup that can be used to eat out of. You shouldn’t need a separate cooking knife; just use the one you will have on you.

  2. Tools

    The last thing you may have seen listed as essential items are tools that people brought with them. Having a specialized tool makes you valuable. If you are the only one who can perform a certain function, this makes you more valuable to a group of people.

    Below are a list of specialized tools that you may already have. The temptation may be to get all of them, but realistically it is better to have everything you need to get one specialized task done well than to have a little bit of everything and be generally useless.

Cooking Tools

I think you should have some basic tools for cooking just to be self sufficient in this area. However, if you loaded up on spices, oils, and pots and pans, you could become valuable as the “camp chef” of your refugee group. By cooking other people’s food you could take some of it as payment and support yourself. Make sure you have plenty of fire-starting materials. Bulk packages of Flint Rods can be used with the back of a Gerber Prodigy or Mora Buschraft to start thousands of fires.

Wood Preparation Tools

If you have a quality full-size ax then you can be the designated wood chopper. Having woodworking knives and tools could allow you to carve wooden utensils and other needed items for trade.

Medical Tools

Most people do not know how to use medical tools. If you have first aid or advanced medical training, stock up on some specialized tools that will make you valuable to other people. A good doctor will be jealously guarded by a group of people because of their importance in keeping a group functioning properly. Everyone should have a basic medical first aid kit prepared, but it is impracticable for everyone to have a kit of dental surgery tools. Make yourself valuable by having the essential healthcare trade.

Defense Tools

Many people do not have firearms. If you have a range of weaponry, ammunition, and maintenance supplies then a job as the group’s sentry or soldier could help support you. Guns are heavy and you can’t eat them, so make sure you have others that know how to cook and find food; otherwise you may be using the gun in ways you never thought you could.

Clothing/Equipment Repair Tools

One interesting refugee carried his sewing machine with him. It allowed him to offer a valuable service to others by fixing their clothes. While a full manual sewing machine may not be practical, having a large assortment of thread, needles, buttons, and buckles could make you the go-to person for mending clothes and gear. Life as a refugee is stressful on all your equipment, so having the ability to repair on-the-go is essential.

Hunting Tools

While the odds of you getting enough wild game on the road to support yourself let alone others is slim to none, having hunting supplies could be useful. Having fishing tackle could give you an opportunity to catch fish if you are camped near a lake. Bringing snare wire and knowing how to use it could allow you to set traps before sleeping and potentially wake up to fresh breakfast.

Charging Tools

Even if the grid is down, people will still have electronics that need charging. If you built a portable solar or crank charging system for storing and dispensing energy you could be a very popular person. Consider getting a basic solar charger that you can use to collect energy from the sun. The downside of these is that they only have energy available if the sun is out. Store excess energy in a big external battery (or a few smaller external batteries) that can be transferred at night or a more convenient time. You can also use a USB battery charger to fill rechargeable AA or AAA batteries that can be used in flashlights or other portable electronics. Grey Wolf Survival has a great article on building a portable charging station that I highly recommend if you want to take your charging station to the next level.

  1. Alternative Transportation

    After reading this list you may be feeling a little overwhelmed with the idea of carrying all this stuff in your backpack. That is because it would be pretty much impossible to do so. It is important to think of alternative means of carrying around your essential equipment now. If you have ever read the book or seen the movie called The Road, you would have watched how the main character carries his precious goods in a shopping cart. If you live near a major city you have probably observed this trick with your local homeless population as well. While in a true emergency a shopping cart will seem like a wagon from heaven, if you have the opportunity now invest in some better alternatives.

    Gardening wagons come in a variety of sizes. These have the advantage of being able to carry a larger amount of equipment (depending on the size you select) over more difficult terrain than a shopping cart could handle due to using inflated tires. They also offer a smoother ride for young children so that you can carry them when they get tired after about 100 yards of walking. If you buy one with inflated tires, make sure you get some spare tires as well as a pump. Automotive flat repairing kits are a must as well. Here are examples of  large, medium, and small wagons that may suit your needs.

    Another standard strategy employed by the homeless is to use a dolly. Dollies are a great way to carry around heavy gear. They only have two points of contact with the ground, which makes it easier to navigate through tough terrain that even a wagon could not. If you go this route, buy a dolly that has solid one-piece construction for the frame and non-pressurized wheels so you don’t need to worry about a pump or spares. The extra weight of the solid frame will more than make up for itself with its added durability. The disadvantage of the dolly is that it cannot easily be used to carry children, and it also cannot carry as much as a wagon. If you are traveling with a group or your family, consider having both available to you. If you like the idea of a dolly but wish for the convenience and stability of having four wheels on the ground, there are dollies available that have four wheels and can be used either as a wagon or a dolly. If you are going to go the dolly route, make sure you have some bungee cords to keep everything attached.

    The last and maybe the most versatile way to carry your gear is on a bicycle. A good mountain bike equipped with storage racks in the front and back can be an invaluable tool. Not only can you walk with it and have it carry the majority of the load, it can be unloaded and used in its normal purpose to quickly move you around. Having at least one person in your group with a bike could be life and time saving as they can scout for food or danger far quicker than someone on foot. If you don’t already have a mountain bike, consider getting one that does not have any additional rear suspension components. The fewer moving parts there are the less there is to break. May sure to pack five or six extra inner tubes of the correct size and a patching kit as well as tools to make basic repairs. Also, have extra tires.

    If you are planning on going the bike route, a pull-behind child’s trailer for a bike could be used for its intended purpose or as additional storage space. There are also more simple bike trailers that are designed specifically for cargo.

Conclusion

Being a refugee should ideally be a temporary experience. Being prepared now can help ease the discomfort of such a devastating situation and prepare you to make the time as short as possible.

While I certainly hope and pray that no one reading this ever finds themselves in a refugee situation, if it does happen remember to maintain hope and maybe you will be a little better prepared by taking some of the steps listed. Best of luck neighbors! Charles T.

Letter Re: Prepping for a Paleo Diet

Hugh,

TZ’s article on the Paleo diet vs. the more usual heavy-on-carb diet that preppers typically prep for was exciting for me to read because it addressed many of the issues my husband and I are dealing with. We’ve been formally prepping for the past six years, storing up wheat, rice, beans, etc. Then two years ago we found a great doctor, a Functional Medicine Doctor, who emphasizes the health model vs. the pathology model. He started with extensive blood tests, then based on the results starts you off on a series of supplements and a strict non-carb diet. We’re in our late sixties, and I just assumed weight gain and loss of energy through the decades was normal. But we both lost so much (and we’re not hungry), that we’re down to the weight we were in our 20s, with more energy, lowered cholesterol, and no longer pre-diabetic, etc. This just through diet and supplements.

However, we had four years of accumulated stored carbs and canned goods. Now what? We have lots of company, so I am slowly using up what’s stored. (I know, feeding our company stuff we don’t normally eat?!!). We’re still working on that issue. I did hope that TZ would give us a list of what to store. But his advice to buy a freeze drier (something we’re seriously thinking about) is a good start.

I personally hate this sustainable life style in that it’s a LOT of work and ties us down with morning and evening chores and the myriad chores of growing your own vegetables year round (and we live at 9000 feet!). I don’t like to cook. I don’t like to put up vegetables either by canning, freezing, or dehydrating. In general, if it’s domestic work, I pretty much hate it (sigh), but I do it anyway. Eating fresh, non pre-packaged food is a lot more work. Putting things in the freeze-drier is too. So, I guess, if anyone has any suggestions for Paleo-type storage, I’d love to hear them. (You know, that no-work but lots of gain philosophy 😉

By the way, TZ excellently laid out the principles and benefits of eating a very low-carb diet. We’ve fallen off the wagon a little, and it’s encouraged us to get back on. – S.

Economics and Investing:

Items from Mr. Econocobas:

Larry Summers Launches The War On Paper Money: “It’s Time To Kill The $100 Bill” – This is going to keep being in the public sphere, because I believe it gets us used to the idea. With NIRP banning cash is almost a necessity even though it is not without many consequences.

Here’s Why (And How) The Government Will ‘Borrow’ Your Retirement Savings – This is not a new idea even for the U.S., but it is a Rubicon to still be crossed.

The Return Of Crisis – From Chris Martenson at Peak Prosperity, as always very detailed..

Items from Professor Preponomics:

US News

How to Reverse the Innovation Slow Down (Mises) Economies are “lumpy things”. Well said! Read on… Excerpt: “Economies aren’t smooth machines; they’re lumpy things, influenced by particular individuals with particular motivations and desires using particular resources.”

President Obama’s FY2017 Budget (Downsizing the Federal Government) Excerpt: “If you stacked $24 trillion in $100 bills in a pile, it would stretch 16,000 miles high, or about the height of 150,000 Washington Monuments. Government debt—driven by deficit spending—is by far Washington’s largest monument.”

US Blows $5.7B on Cyber Defense System That Doesn’t Work(Judicial Watch) Excerpt: “Reckless government spending is at full throttle with the example du jour a $5.7 billion cyber defense system created to protect computers at federal agencies against hackers. Despite its mind-boggling price tag the system is seriously flawed and uses features already available in much cheaper commercial-grade products, according to a federal probe made public recently.” …and the US Debt Clock keeps on ticking.

Rank Hipocrisy by Medicare and Medicaid (Government Waste Fraud and Abuse) Excerpt: “There is an appalling amount of brazen, easily detectable fraud, like “doctors” registering restaurants, convenience stores and airports as the sites of their medical clinics. But the real money is in accounting gray areas that are ruthlessly exploited by many big-name providers. And real money it is: roughly $60 billion a year, or $114,000 for every minute of every day of the entire year.”

International News

China’s Options to Try to Dodge a Currency Crisis (CNN Money) Excerpt: “The big fear is a sharp devaluation of the yuan that “could trigger significant financial market volatility, generating shock waves that would affect the wider global economy,” said Andrew Colquhoun, a senior director in Asia for the ratings agency Fitch. Chinese officials say they don’t plan to let that happen. Here are some of the options they have at their disposal to try to avoid such a crisis, although none of them are the silver bullet….” The Wall Street Journal has also posted this article: China Loses Control of the Economic Story Line Note: The Wall Street Journal requires sign-in and/or subscription for access to some of its content.

German “Bail-In” Plan for Government Bonds Risks Blowing Up the Euro (The Telegraph) Excerpt: “A new German plan to impose “haircuts” on holders of eurozone sovereign debt risks igniting an unstoppable European bond crisis and could force Italy and Spain to restore their own currencies….”

Is Venezuela Trying to Hide Oil Assets with this Bizarre Move? (OilPrice) This may also be a presidential pay-off in exchange for military support given the magnitude of the crisis in Venezuela. Excerpt: “Whatever the reason, this is a major red flag over the future of Venezuela’s resource sector. The military aren’t experts in oil or mining — and the move is likely to mean more bureaucracy, inefficiency, and squandered opportunities in Venezuela’s already-embattled industry.”

Personal Economics and Household Finance

SurvivalBlog’s Quick-Start Guide for Preparedness Newbies (SurvivalBlog) An important and frequent focus of the Personal Economics and Household Finance section of the SurvivalBlog is support for the development of individuals and families new to preparedness living. Most often we link to resources from other preparedness bloggers, news media coverage, and law enforcement press releases covering topics of interest. In today’s link, I’m encouraging readers to visit (or re-visit) JWR’s Quick Start Guide. If you’re new to preparedness, this is a well developed check-list. If you’re an experienced prepper, this is a most excellent review.

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SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.

Readers’ Recommendations of the Week:

SurvivalBlog reader T.G. writes in:

My first and foremost pick is ‘Alas, Baylon‘ by Pat Frank. Written in 1959, it starts off in the sleepy little Florida town of Fort Repose, a brief family history of the main character, and soon leads up to an accidental nuclear war in the Middle East that goes world wide. The story details how the lights go out and how Fort Reposed goes from 1959 to sometime in the 1800’s as people have to relearn how to do almost everything plus deal with day to day life minus information, a hospital, functioning police, and weekly shipments to the local store.

My second pick is probably unusual for a prepper, but bear with me. ‘Daybreak 2250 A.D.‘ by Andre Norton, published in 1952. The story takes place a couple hundred years after a devastating world war that used nuclear and biological weapons that reshaped the landscape and the creatures who roam the earth and maybe the race of man. The main character, Fors of the Eyrie tribe and a loner due to his perceived ‘mutant’ appearance of platinum colored hair and enhanced abilities of hearing and sight, strikes out on his own after a final rejection for a coveted position in his tribe-descendants of scientists and technicians, who now walk through the lands wearing handmade clothing trying to glean lost knowledge of the Old Ones. While not typical ‘prepper’ material, I’ve always been drawn to the tale for its practical examples and lessons of self-reliance, from navigating by the stars to constructing a bow and arrows. I acquired both of these novels while in high school in the late 70’s and reread them at least every third year since. I reread Day Break 2250 A.D. this last week of January 2016. I suppose these two stories appeal could be the “just before and just after” a societal meltdown points of view and what the future could look like once the chaos and destruction becomes ancient history.

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Reader M. Mahoney would like to recommend a couple of books by Kay Mahoney (full disclosure– his wife) and are related to each other.

Collapse: You’re On Your Ownis a post-EMP fictional story based in northern Arkansas. My Frugal Notebook is a non-fiction book based on a notebook maintained by a character in Collapse.

Both books have received favorable reviews in local newspapers and online book seller sites and are timely for your readers.

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Reader D.S. recently watched Polycarp, Life of a King as well as Courageous, which he reports has changed his entire family’s life and brought them closer to God.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Don’t miss this over at our friend Enola Gay’s always informative Paratus Familia blog: Product Review – Gun Skins. I particularly like the Molon Labe green camouflage. – JWR

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Spring could bring a fresh surge of refugees. But Europe isn’t ready for them. JWR’s Comment: My intel sources tell me that the social media buzz in the Middle East about European Invasion Part Deux has been building for many months. Emboldened by their success in 2015, I expect the spring and summer of 2016 to be a veritable deluge of uncouth humanity.

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A sweet tribute to all of the Trophy Wives out there from Krayton Kerns.

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I can’t agree with defaulting on any loan, but Federal marshals? What’s next? SWAT? US Marshals arresting people for not paying their federal student loans – JBG

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Detectives question lack of autopsy in Scalia death. On such a high profile, circumstances are certainly strange. There may not be any wrong-doing at all, but how will we ever know? – P.M.

Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“To tax the larger incomes at a higher percentage than the smaller, is to lay a tax on industry and economy; to impose a penalty on people for having worked harder and saved more than their neighbors.” – John Stuart Mill

Notes for Tuesday – February 16, 2016

Today, we present another entry for Round 63 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case (a $1,700 value),
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate that is good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical 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,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chrome-lined barrel and a hard case to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel, which can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools and a compact carry capability in a hard case or 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. Gun Mag Warehouse is providing 20 Magpul PMAG 30-rd Magazines (a value of $300) and a Gun Mag Warehouse T-Shirt; (an equivalent prize will be awarded for residents in states with magazine restrictions),
  6. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  7. The Ark Institute is donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package (enough for two families of four) plus seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate (a $325 retail value),
  8. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  9. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating both an AquaBrick water filtration kit and a Stainless Medium Scout Kelly Kettle Complete Kit with a combined retail value of $304, and
  10. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Second Prize:

  1. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  2. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  3. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  4. A Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 value),
  5. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  6. A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value),
  7. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, and
  8. Safecastle is providing a package of 10 LifeStraws (a $200 value)

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A $245 gift certificate from custom knife-maker Jon Kelly Designs, of Eureka, Montana,
  3. 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,
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  7. Montie Gear is donating a Precision Rest (a $249 value), and
  8. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).

Round 63 ends on March 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.

How to Prepare a Refugee Bug Out Bag- Part 1, by Charles T.

The idea of leaving home and “living off the land” is a popular discussion point among preparedness-minded individuals. Many think they will grab their bug out bag and set off for a new life somewhere, foraging for wild edibles and having magical adventures on the way as they live out of their untested $200 tactical bag.

Let’s be real for a second. There is a word for someone who has lost their home and is now living out of a backpack; it’s refugee!

Last I checked, there was nothing glamorous about being a refugee, and if you are planning for this contingency you need to be prepared for some pretty serious physical, political, and emotional junk to be happening all at the same time. In a situation like this, you are going to be desperate and have no power to make any sort of calls. You will be at the whim of whatever authority there is in a region and have no legitimate claim to anything except the clothes on your back. You are going to need a lot more than a backpack full of MRE’s to be ready for this. As soon as you run out of food and you or your kid starts starving to death, you will be trying desperately to find a refugee camp that will take you in and will be grateful for some rice every day no matter the cost of personal liberty.

If you set out on your own without some sort of concrete plan, you will eventually have someone else making the decisions for you. This is why it is highly recommended that you have a concrete destination in mind when bugging out, ideally a safe place with pre-positioned supplies so you don’t need to carry heavy equipment with you.

So at this point let’s just be clear; unless you have extensive wilderness experience, packing a bag with the idea of heading into the woods and living off the land is a waste of time and will get you killed. If you have no clear destination in mind, like you would for a 72-hour bag as described extensively through SurvivalBlog, you are planning to become a refugee, not a survivalist.

Now that you have realistic expectations for your future, how can you prepare for it? There is nothing wrong with taking some steps now to prepare for becoming a refugee. In fact, thinking ahead of time could actually prevent you from ever getting to such a desperate place.

What would becoming a refugee look like?

Let’s look at a recent refugee crisis. In Syria an insurrection against the government turned into a full out civil war, which has lasted for years. Most normal people were not involved in the fighting and just wished for things to return to normal. But in many cities, the fighting eventually got so bad that local business were forced to close, leaving people without a means of earning money. With no money, people were unable to buy food. Food itself became scarce as delivery became dangerous.

Eventually normal families that may have not been in physical danger were forced by hunger to leave in search of food to eat. Others after seeing fighting in their backyard or maybe having a loved one killed decided to leave for an area of greater stability and safety.

In either case, realize that the need and desire for food and safety will always create a greater sense of urgency than the need for a roof over your head. A hungry or thirsty person will do anything in their pursuit of food, including leaving a house they have been paying for their whole lives. You would too, if the situation arose.

In Syria many people left their homes, either after careful consideration or as an immediate response to danger. Some packed as much as they could; others escaped with just the the clothes they were wearing.

If there was no close relative or friend they could go to, many were forced to leave and move to a different city or country. Once in a new location, they had no means of earning income other than manual labor, and many have became dependent on charity to survive. At the time of writing this many still live in massive refugee cities that are entirely supported by foreign and local aid. They have only the possessions they carried with them and whatever has been provided through charity.

What did they bring with them? I think that looking at some of their stories we can pick out common themes. Below are links to articles where refugees were asked what was the most important item they brought with them. Scroll through them if you have the time, and then we will discuss what the common themes were.

Before we start digging into the meat of what a refugee will need, let’s first assume that you have already packed a 72hr Bug Out Bag and have the essential items listed for that. A Refugee Bug Out Bag is built upon that foundation and does not necessarily need to be a different bag. That would be just too expensive. Instead, look at any differentiated items below and consider adding them to separate stuff sacks that can be paired with your 72hr Bag if you were leaving home without a clear destination. If there is no way it will all fit, consider investing in a larger bag or the alternative transportation methods listed at the end of the article.

There were several common items that you in the articles above where you can see as a trend what is valuable in the eyes of a refugee.

  1. Hope

    Many refugees describe their most valuable possession as something that gives them hope. Something that gives them the will to live through hell and keep hoping for something better.

    These could be:

    • Holy book
    • Picture of family or loved ones
    • Diploma or certifications
    • Precious family heirloom
    • Favorite toy
    • Identification and important documents
    • Medications

    These items are usually lightweight and the last thing that these refugees would give up.

    What gives you hope? Would a picture of your family keep you trudging on if you were separated from them? Would reading from scripture calm your soul in the midst of hell on earth? What is your child’s favorite toy that could help keep them sane if their whole world changed? Find something that is precious to you and put it with your 72hr Bug Out Bag and your Refugee Bug Out Bag.

  2. People

    Many refugees cite their family or friends as being all that they need. Don’t forget to plan for your family if you are thinking you may at some point become a refugee.

    You will rarely see refugees on their own. They have a tendency to group with others in similar plights. Why is this? Well, first off is loneliness. Being separated from everything that makes life stable is extremely isolating and depressing. Other people can keep you mentally sane. Don’t plan on being a lone wolf refugee; you won’t make it far.

    The second reason is safety. As the old saying goes, “There is safety in numbers”. Refugees are extremely vulnerable. Alone, they can easily be overpowered and have what little they have taken from them. As a group, though, it is a little more difficult without a substantial force to control them. A group of refugees is also harder to ignore and when necessary can take what they need by force. In an emergency that justifies swarms of people to abandon their homes and seek safety elsewhere, groups of refugees are your best bet for survival, but they may also provide some of the greatest threats on the road when two groups intersect with conflicting wants.

    To help protect yourself and the others that will be traveling with you, it makes sense to have access to firearms. Have a long distance rifle that can help minimize threats from a distance, and also keep a small pistol so that you can remain stealthily armed if you need to go somewhere carrying a rifle would not be prudent.

  3. Shelter

    Look at pictures of refugees on the move, and you will see that a large part of the load they carry is related to shelter. Blankets, tarps, ground pads and clothing are absolutely necessary for survival. Try sleeping outside on the ground without a ground pad and bedding. You can’t. In order to survive during the day, you need a good sleep at night.

    At a bare minimum, plan on having a roll up ground pad, sleeping bag, and a tarp. The pad provides some cushioning from the ground and insulates your body from having all its heat sucked into the earth. Bedding keeps you separated from bugs and retains body heat. A tarp can be set up as a roof or additional ground pad depending on the weather. If you want to have additional shelter options, get a tent large enough for your family to all sleep together. Just make sure you have at least one tarp for a ground pad under your tent, and ideally you will have an additional tarp that is twice the footprint of your tent that you can hang over your tent to minimize your tent’s direct exposure to rain and keep the ground surrounding you dry.

    The easiest way to get these items if you don’t already have them is to organize a family camping trip. Not only will you have the justification to buy tents and sleeping bags, you will also get to try everything out.

    In addition to the shelter you need for sleeping, you need shelter for the daytime. This consists of the clothes you will be wearing and whatever else you can afford to carry.

    Many refugees cited their shoes as their most prized possession. A good pair of waterproof hiking boots can keep you going farther than flip flops. Make sure you have good new boots for everyone in your family. Either keep a spare pair of everyone’s size or make sure you refresh them frequently.

    Don’t forget extra socks as well; they wear out quickly. Just plan on having at least three pair, changing them daily to prevent blisters and prematurely aging. Wash and air dry the used pairs while another is being worn.

    Moving up the body you want a pair of pants that will last. Buy some quality denim or hiking pants that will last a lot longer than you think you will need them. Frogtoggs makes lightweight waterproof pants that you can carry and only use if it is raining to help keep you dry.

    The torso layering is key. Instead of packing a heavy jacket, have multiple layers starting with a t-shirt of Under Armour, followed by increasing long sleeve layers with a waterproof shell jacket on top. This combination allows you to dress for whatever the weather is and not have too many extra clothes to carry.

  4. Water

    If you look at many pictures of refugees, you will often times see them carrying multiple large water containers. This is because water is absolutely critical. You won’t realize how valuable water is until you don’t have it. Water is obviously used for drinking, but it is also essential for food preparation and hygiene. Having the ability to carry large quantities of water with you is necessary, and if you are moving on a long trip the weight of the water will decrease as time goes on as it is consumed, and you can just hold onto the container for when the next refill opportunity comes.

    Have some clear PBA free Nalgene and one gallon water jugs that can be used for solar water purification. When you fill them from a clear pollutant free source just put a coffee filter or bandanna over the top to keep out sediment, and then expose them to sunlight for at least 6 hours to let the solar radiation kill any harmful bacteria that are present. This is a longer version of using a Steripen but without the need for batteries and can be happening passively while you do other things.

    Also keep some larger 5-gallon containers on hand for storing purified water or grey water for cooking. A 5-gallon pail can be used to carry water from a far location to camp, and then double as a container for cooking supplies when on the road.

    Other methods of filtering include boiling water, using a Lifestraw or camping water purifier, or adding 1/8 teaspoon (8 drops) of bleach to a gallon of water.

    All of these require specialized tools with finite lifespans. That is why it is recommended to have clear bottles that can be used with UV energy from the sun, since as long as you have the bottle you will have a means of purifying the water.

Letter Re: Constitutional Carry

Hugh,

I’d like to make a comment regarding “Constitutional Carry” laws that are in the works around the country. We had one here in Maine pass last year. Ours has conditions mandating the disclosure of carrying should you encounter a police officer. The premise of creating a state law (with conditions, infringements, etc) in order to enforce a Constitutional law is unconstitutional. This is usurping the Constitution at the state level. Even worse, the “Constitutional Carry” law is just another typical state law that can be repealed by any future legislature. I would encourage anyone in any state that is in the process of creating such a law, or contemplating it, to contact their legislators and hammer into their heads that any existing concealed carry permitting process requirements are unconstitutional and that the judicial branch of the state should abolish any such permitting process and associated state laws administratively through the court due to those processes and laws being illegal. Furthermore, the court should issue a statement declaring that the state shall honor the 2nd Amendment from hence forward. It’s truly the only way we can guarantee our constitutional right to carry concealed or otherwise…. well… other than just ignoring any permitting process altogether… but we’ll at least try to play along with the “justice” system. -P.B. in ME