Nunc Pro Tunc: The Coming Day of Burn Barrels and Blessings

This is a standing invitation to my fellow Americans: If congress ever enacts a law mandating the registration and/or a production ban of detachable magazine semiautomatic rifles then you are hereby invited to the town square of your local community. There, burn barrels will be set up and we will publicly burn Form 4473s, FFL Bound Books, state and local registration records, and the sales receipts for every firearm in the United States. On that same day, FFL holders and public officials holding electronic firearms records will simultaneously erase those records, permanently and irretrievably. (Using special file erasure software such as Blancco, X-Ways, and Stellar Wipe, or though the physical destruction of disk drives.)

Spontaneous Gatherings, Spontaneous Combustion

This burn barrel day–likely to be held the day after the President signs any new draconian legislation–will include speeches, public prayers, and the blessing of those who have gathered by ministers, rabbis, and priests.

The core of the activities on that day will be stalwart public defiance of any new unconstitutional law(s), the open and notorious destruction of records that might be used to enslave us, and vocal public affirmations of solidarity of free men and women, in the face of tyranny. This will be a defining moment for America–a line drawn in the sand. We will forthrightly declare that we will not obey any unconstitutional law and that we will treat it dismissively, as if it had never been enacted — nunc pro tunc. We will pledge ourselves to the defense of liberty, both individually and collectively. We will vow that if ever called to jury duty, we will nullify any unconstitutional laws, vacating the charges against the accused, in accordance with our long-standing right as jurors. (See: www.FIJA.org.)

The Law is On Our Side

We will publicly re-affirm some long standing precepts of American jurisprudence, to wit:

§ 195 Generally

The general rule is that an unconstitutional statute, whether federal or state, though having the form and name of law, is in reality no law(1) but is wholly void(2) and ineffective for any purpose.(3) Since unconstitutionality dates from the time of its enactment and not merely from the date of the decision so branding it,(4) an unconstitutional law, in legal contemplation, is as inoperative as if it had never been passed(5) and never existed;(6) that is, it is void ab initio.(7) Such a statute leaves the question that it purports to settle just as it would be had the statute not been enacted.(8)
 
Since an unconstitutional law is void, it follows that generally the statute imposes no duties,(9) confers no rights,(10) creates no office(11) or liabilities,(12) bestows no power or authority on anyone,(13) affords no protection,(14) is incapable of creating any rights or obligations,(15) does not allow for the granting of any relief,(16) and justifies no acts performed under it.(17)
 
Once a statute is determined to be unconstitutional, no private citizen or division of the state may take any further action pursuant to its provisions.(18) A contract that rests on an unconstitutional statute creates no obligation to be impaired by subsequent legislation.(19) No one is bound to obey an unconstitutional law,(20) and no courts are bound to enforce it.(21) A law contrary to the United States Constitution may not be enforced.(22) Once a statute has been declared unconstitutional, courts thereafter have no jurisdiction over alleged violations.(23) Persons convicted and fined under a statute subsequently held unconstitutional may recover the fines paid.(24)

FOOTNOTES:

1 Commissioners of Roads and Revenues of Fulton County v. Davis, 213 Ga. 792, 102 S.E.2d 180 (1958); State v. Village of Garden City, 74 Idaho 513, 265 P.2d 328 (1953); McGuire v. C & L Restaurant Inc., 346 N.W.2d 605 (Minn. 1984); People v. Corley, 91 Misc. 2d 255, 397 N.Y.S.2d 875 (City Crim. Ct. 1977).

2 Lewis v. Uselton, 224 Ga. App. 428, 480 S.E.2d 856 (1997); State ex rel. Stenberg v. Murphy, 247 Neb. 358, 527 N.W.2d 185 (1995); State v. Clark, 367 N.W.2d 168 (N.D. 1985); St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co. v. Getty Oil Co., 1989 OK 139, 782 P.2d 915 (Okla. 1989); Weegar v. Bakeberg, 527 N.W.2d 676 (S.D. 1995); Almond v. Day, 197 Va. 419, 89 S.E.2d 851 (1955).

3State v. One Oldsmobile Two-Door Sedan, Model 1946, 227 Minn. 280, 35 N.W.2d 525 (1948); Grieb v. Department of Liquor Control of State, 153 Ohio St. 77, 41 Ohio Op. 148, 90 N.E.2d 691 (1950); Hunter v. School Dist. of Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau, 97 Wis. 2d 435, 293 N.W.2d 515 (1980).

4 Shirley v. Getty Oil Co., 367 So. 2d 1388 (Ala. 1979); Oliver v. State, 619 So. 2d 384 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1st Dist. 1993); Lewis v. Uselton, 224 Ga. App. 428, 480 S.E.2d 856 (1997); Trout v. State, 231 S.W.3d 140 (Mo. 2007); State ex rel. Stenberg v. Murphy, 247 Neb. 358, 527 N.W.2d 185 (1995); Texas Dept. of Family and Protective Services v. Dickensheets, 274 S.W.3d 150 (Tex. App. Houston 1st Dist. 2008).

5 Huffman v. Dawkins, 273 Ark. 520, 622 S.W.2d 159 (1981); Commissioners of Roads and Revenues of Fulton County v. Davis, 213 Ga. 792, 102 S.E.2d 180 (1958); Briggs v. Campbell, Wyant & Cannon Foundry Co., Division Textron Am. Inc., 2 Mich. App. 204, 139 N.W.2d 336 (1966), judgment aff’d, 379 Mich. 160, 150 N.W.2d 752 (1967); McGuire v. C & L Restaurant Inc., 346 N.W.2d 605 (Minn. 1984); State ex rel. Stenberg v. Murphy, 247 Neb. 358, 527 N.W.2d 185 (1995); State v. Clark, 367 N.W.2d 168 (N.D. 1985); St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co. v. Getty Oil Co., 1989 OK 139, 782 P.2d 915 (Okla. 1989); Glen-Gery Corp. v. Zoning Hearing Bd. of Dover Tp., 589 Pa. 135, 907 A.2d 1033 (2006); Franks v. State, 772 S.W.2d 428 (Tenn. 1989); School Districts’ Alliance for Adequate Funding of Special Educ. v. State, 149 Wash. App. 241, 202 P.3d 990, 242 Ed. Law Rep. 383 (Div. 2 2009); City of Fairmont v. Pitrolo Pontiac-Cadillac Co., 172 W. Va. 505, 308 S.E.2d 527 (1983).

6 Thomas v. North Carolina Dept. of Human Resources, 124 N.C. App. 698, 478 S.E.2d 816 (1996), aff’d, 346 N.C. 268, 485 S.E.2d 295 (1997); Weegar v. Bakeberg, 527 N.W.2d 676 (S.D. 1995).

7 People v. Manuel, 94 Ill. 2d 242, 68 Ill. Dec. 506, 446 N.E.2d 240 (1983); Lovgren v. Peoples Elec. Co., Inc., 380 N.W.2d 791 (Minn. 1986); Nevada Power Co. v. Metropolitan Development Co., 104 Nev. 684, 765 P.2d 1162 (1988); Town of Islip v. Paliotti, 196 A.D.2d 648, 601 N.Y.S.2d 926 (2d Dep’t 1993); American Mfrs. Mut. Ins. Co. v. Ingram, 301 N.C. 138, 271 S.E.2d 46 (1980).

8 Commissioners of Roads and Revenues of Fulton County v. Davis, 213 Ga. 792, 102 S.E.2d 180 (1958).

9 Flournoy v. First Nat. Bank of Shreveport, 197 La. 1067, 3 So. 2d 244 (1941); State ex rel. Stenberg v. Murphy, 247 Neb. 358, 527 N.W.2d 185 (1995); Franks v. State, 772 S.W.2d 428 (Tenn. 1989).

10 People v. Harvey, 379 Ill. App. 3d 518, 318 Ill. Dec. 756, 884 N.E.2d 724 (1st Dist. 2008); State ex rel. Stenberg v. Murphy, 247 Neb. 358, 527 N.W.2d 185 (1995); Nevada Power Co. v. Metropolitan Development Co., 104 Nev. 684, 765 P.2d 1162 (1988); Ethics Com’n of State of Okl. v. Cullison, 1993 OK 37, 850 P.2d 1069 (Okla. 1993); General Motors Corp. v. Oklahoma County Bd. of Equalization, 1983 OK 59, 678 P.2d 233 (Okla. 1983); Franks v. State, 772 S.W.2d 428 (Tenn. 1989); Geeslin v. State Farm Lloyds, 255 S.W.3d 786 (Tex. App. Austin 2008).
 
As to the effect of and rights under a judgment based upon an unconstitutional law, see Am. Jur. 2d, Judgments § 17.
 
As to the res judicata effect of a judgment based upon an unconstitutional law, see Am. Jur. 2d, Judgments § 752.

11 Flournoy v. First Nat. Bank of Shreveport, 197 La. 1067, 3 So. 2d 244 (1941); Franks v. State, 772 S.W.2d 428 (Tenn. 1989).

12 Liddell v. Heavner, 2008 OK 6, 180 P.3d 1191 (Okla. 2008).

13 Flournoy v. First Nat. Bank of Shreveport, 197 La. 1067, 3 So. 2d 244 (1941).

14 Nevada Power Co. v. Metropolitan Development Co., 104 Nev. 684, 765 P.2d 1162 (1988); Ethics Com’n of State of Okl. v. Cullison, 1993 OK 37, 850 P.2d 1069 (Okla. 1993); Franks v. State, 772 S.W.2d 428 (Tenn. 1989).
 
As to the limitations to which this rule is subject, see § 196.

15 State ex rel. Stenberg v. Murphy, 247 Neb. 358, 527 N.W.2d 185 (1995).

16 Helvey v. Dawson County Bd. of Equalization, 242 Neb. 379, 495 N.W.2d 261 (1993) (a court may not grant any relief based upon a statute which is nonexistent or a statute which has become nonexistent by reason of a judicial declaration of unconstitutionality).

17 Millet v. Rizzo, 2 So. 2d 244 (La. Ct. App. 1st Cir. 1941); Board of Managers of James Walker Memorial Hospital of Wilmington v. City of Wilmington, 237 N.C. 179, 74 S.E.2d 749 (1953); State ex rel. Tharel v. Board of Com’rs of Creek County, 1940 OK 468, 188 Okla. 184, 107 P.2d 542 (1940).
 
As to the effect of a declaration of unconstitutionality on acts performed under it, generally, see § 196.

18 Thomas v. North Carolina Dept. of Human Resources, 124 N.C. App. 698, 478 S.E.2d 816 (1996), aff’d, 346 N.C. 268, 485 S.E.2d 295 (1997).

19 Jones v. Columbian Carbon Co., 132 W. Va. 219, 51 S.E.2d 790 (1948).

20 Flournoy v. First Nat. Bank of Shreveport, 197 La. 1067, 3 So. 2d 244 (1941); Amyot v. Caron, 88 N.H. 394, 190 A. 134 (1937).

21 Chicago, I. & L.R. Co. v. Hackett, 228 U.S. 559, 33 S. Ct. 581, 57 L. Ed. 966 (1913); Payne v. Griffin, 51 F. Supp. 588 (M.D. Ga. 1943); Flournoy v. First Nat. Bank of Shreveport, 197 La. 1067, 3 So. 2d 244 (1941).

22 Painter v. Shalala, 97 F.3d 1351 (10th Cir. 1996); Bartlett v. Bowen, 816 F.2d 695 (D.C. Cir. 1987), opinion reinstated on reconsideration, 824 F.2d 1240 (D.C. Cir. 1987).

23 U.S. v. Baucum, 80 F.3d 539 (D.C. Cir. 1996).

24 Neely v. U.S., 546 F.2d 1059, 41 A.L.R. Fed. 331 (3d Cir. 1976).

From: § 195, American Jurisprudence 2d, Volume 16 (Conflict of Laws to Constitutional Law 1-359).

Never Again!

Recognizing the many sad lessons of civilian disarmament and subsequent genocides in the 20th Century, we will make bold and forthright statement: Never Again! We will not submit to the unlawful decrees of tyrants. We will not meekly go their jails and internment camps. We will fight for our liberty, to our dying breath.

Come Armed, Come Masked

I recommend that all adults who publicly assemble at these burn barrel events do so armed, as is our right. And those who come armed should also wear masks, to protect themselves from malicious prosecution. I plan to wear a Guy Fawkes mask, but you can wear a bandana, face muffler, or the face mask of your choice. Joining you, also wearing masks, will be many mayors, sheriffs and their deputies, chiefs of police and their officers, town council members, clergy, and people of all walks of life. We vastly outnumber the tyrants. The tyrants deserve nothing but our scorn and derision. Their fate is already sealed.

Plausible Denial

After this fateful day has come and gone, FFL holders and public officials will be able to recount: “I had no choice. My records were taken by men with guns who were wearing masks!” (So they’ll have no excuse if they don’t cooperate with this nationwide display of civil disobedience.)

God Bless The Republic. Down with Tyrants. We Will Prevail!

– James Wesley, Rawles – January 28, 2013

Note: Permission to reprint or re-post this piece in full by any method (printed or electronically) is granted by the author (James Wesley, Rawles), as a long as it is not altered in any way and it is reproduced in full.

Harry’s Book Review: Rora

Book Title: Rora
Author: James Byron Huggins
Copyright Date: 2001, 2007 Bronze Bow Edition
Publisher: Bronze Bow Publishing, LLC
ISBN: 978-1-932458-51-0
Audio, e-book or foreign translation avail? No
Suitable for children? Teens and up

Rora is a work of historical fiction revolving around the defense led by Joshua Gianavel in an effort to save his people, the Waldenses, who lived in the Rora valley in 1655. This is a story of religious persecution, but it requires no great leap of imagination to see how this relates to our own civil rights today. At its core, this is a story about standing up for what is right in opposition to those who ignore their consciences for the sake of personal or political gain.

The Waldenses (or Vaudois in French) were an old religious group with roots going back, arguably, further than the Roman Catholic Church. They had their own translation of the New Testament, the Lingua Romana, in a time when Rome forbade the possession of the scriptures. They did not believe they required a priest in order to obtain forgiveness, but rather that forgiveness comes directly from God. They did not believe that prayer required a church, but rather that a prayer said in a barn was just as good. They did not believe that the bone relics
in Rome were of any value before God at all. In the eyes of Rome they were heretics and had to be eliminated.

Rome had been trying to get rid of the Waldenses for some time. An agreement had been struck in 1561 which was to grant them freedom to worship, but the Inquisition would not accept that agreement as valid. Only one generation prior to 1655 the church had attacked the Waldenses and killed some 16,000 of them, however, some escaped and survived and came back to rebuild. Consequently, the Inquisition came back to exterminate them once again.

Joshua Gianavel had been a mere boy the last time Rome tried to wipe out his people. He had escaped into the Alps then. Hiding in the forests he learned about troop movements and how an organized military had to function. Evidently he learned exceptionally well. His understanding of strategy and his ability to defeat large, trained forces with only a small, untrained band proved to be a serious challenge to the army of Piedmont and the Inquisition. He put up a fight against seemingly insurmountable odds and simply would not be defeated.

I would rather not offer any spoilers regarding this novel. If I may editorialize a bit, this is one book which I believe should be on the short list of everyone who has the right to vote. This novel paints the clearest picture I have yet seen of the reasons why our first and second amendments are so important. I can’t say the author had those issues in mind when he wrote this
book, but given the state of our national discussion on gun control there is a very timely comparison to be made to our own future and Europe’s past.

With regard to the first amendment, the combination of religion, free speech and the press has always seemed to offer a bit of a puzzle to some folks. The situation of the Waldenses offers clarity for that. The crimes for which they were to be exterminated all revolved around issues for which the first amendment would offer protection. They believed in relating to God without an intermediary priest (religion), they publicly preached their different religion (free speech) and they had their own copies of the scriptures (the press—no, it’s not just about reporting the news). In America in 2013 it’s hard to imagine there being much of an issue with the Waldensian world view, and that is one of the great successes on the part of our founding fathers. In 1655 that world view was grounds for your entire people group to be eradicated. And it is in 2013 too. The situation in the South Sudan is regularly shared here on Survivalblog, and that is not the only place it is happening.

The situation in Rora was one in which the government of Piedmont and the Inquisition wanted to wrap up their cleansing quickly and with as little international notice as possible. One of the factors in the novel was the possibility of intervention on the part of Cromwell and England. Keeping things as quiet as possible was a priority. Things are no different today. No one
wants to defend the actions they know are wrong. If they cannot hide the actions, they will offer whatever reason may be considered plausible to the international community, but certainly not declare it as a religious purge. Consider the situation of the Kachin people in Myanmar (Burma). They are a Christian minority in a Buddhist nation and they are under attack. Right now
they are in the mountains fighting a battle as a minority in a situation very much like that of Joshua Gianavel’s. Religious persecution is alive and well in the world today. We in America are simply blessed in that our founding fathers took lessons learned elsewhere and applied them here. We are enjoying the benefit of their wisdom.

This audience probably has little need to hear any defense of the Second Amendment, but one point that is worth making is on the subject of the ability to resist tyranny. Lately there seems to be no shortage of critics who insist the second amendment is outdated because there is no way the citizenry could stand up to the military. Rora is about that very issue. The odds faced by the
Waldenses were every bit as long as the odds the American citizenry would face today, yet the Waldenses stood up for what they believed in spite of those odds, and with a brilliant leader they won battles which no one expected them to win. And yes, history backs up these victories.

I can already hear the arguments about how technology has changed and the mismatch today is even greater than it was then. No doubt, but stop and ask a Marine about his experience in the sandbox and how thoroughly we have prevailed against third world non-uniformed combatants. Sure, we can wipe a city off the map if we so choose, much like what happened to the Waldenses in the Pelice, but when it comes to the mountains it is another matter entirely, much like Rora. Add in the issue of a house divided and there is plenty of validity to the argument that an armed citizenry can hold tyranny at bay. It is a matter of having the will to do so.

It should also be noted that the mismatch in equipment may even out during a conflict. The inhabitants of Rora did not have cannons to start with, but they acquired them in battle. If America’s own military were to be turned on its own citizenry, a very justifiable fear if there is any truth to the rumors of litmus test on our top brass, I would expect that there would be some patriots in the armed forces who would not comply and quite possibly would transfer equipment from the military to the civilian world. By no means would it be an even fight, but I believe there would be a stronger will on the part of those fighting for freedom than there would on the part of those fighting under orders to kill those they thought they were to protect.

Joshua Gianavel is an excellent picture of the will to fight. With the foundation of his experiences as a child he knew what his enemy was about and he knew what future his people faced. His choice to fight against far greater odds is what made history. It can be done. Do you have the will?

Pat’s Product Review: Ruger SR22 Pistol

If you’re serious about survival, you have to have some type of .22 Long Rifle (LR) firearm in your battery. Some will argue against the effectiveness of a .22 LR but I’m not one of them. You can take all manner of small game and fowl, with a well-placed shot from a .22 LR handgun or rifle. And, in a pinch, it will serve as a self-defense weapon as well. No, I’m not advocating the .22 LR as your one and only self-defense firearm, but it will sure do in a pinch, and make the bad guys wish they were some place else.
 
I’ve been a fan of Ruger firearms for many, many years – they never cease to amaze me with the new products they come out with every year – they don’t sit back on past accomplishments! And, if there is one thing that you can count on with Ruger firearms, its that their products are well-made, strong and reliable. The new Ruger SR22 semiauto handgun was recently released. What we have is a 10 round magazine – and you get two of them with each pistol, as well as two magazine floor plates – one flat and the other with an extension for catching your pinky if you have large hands. I don’t know why more gun companies does provide a second magazine with their handguns – it’s a must if you ask me!
 
The SR22 weighs in a 17.5 ounces, with the black polymer frame, and this pistol just feels perfect in the hand, everyone who tried this little pistol loved the way it felt in their hands. Plus, the grip sleeve can be slid off and a different one slides on there for a thicker feel. Everyone preferred the thicker and more curved grip to the slimmer one that was installed on the SR22. The polymer frame has an ambidextrous magazine release, as well as decocker/safety both are easy to manipulate. There is also a Picatinny rail on the front of the frame, for mounting a light or a laser.
 
The slide has an adjustable rear sight and fixed front sight – 3-dot variety, and you can actually reverse the rear sight blade so that it is completely black if you so desire. The barrel is 3.50-inches, housed in the all black slide, the barrel is fixed in place. Take-down is extremely easy – pull down on the take-down tab inside the trigger guard (on the top of the trigger guard) and you pull back on the slide and lift it up and remove it. Make sure the gun is unloaded first! The SR22 requires very little in the way of lubrication, too!
 
I fired more than 1,000 rounds of various .22 LR ammo through my SR22 sample, and there was never a single malfunction of any sort – and some of the ammo I used in my testing was very old – some even corroded, but the SR22 just never missed a beat. I was totally impressed to say the least. The two supplied magazines were easy to load, thanks to the tab on the side of the magazine, that you can pull down with your thumb as you load each round into the mag. My SR22 was sighted in for 25 yards and was dead on at that distance…no adjustments were required. On average, I was getting 3-inch groups at 25 yards, and that is from a standing, free-hand position. I didn’t bench rest the SR22 to see if I could wring more accuracy out of it!
 
I had more than half a dozen people test-fire my SR22 sample, and each one loved the way it felt, handled and the accuracy. I was so impressed with the SR22, that I bought one for my wife and for one of my daughters for Christmas presents – so they would stop borrowing my sample. On more than one occasion, my wife has “confiscated” one of my firearms samples – never to return it. She likes to say she’ll “share” with me – yes, my gun! My daughter took her SR22 out with some friends, and they had no problems with her gun – ditto for my wife’s SR22 sample.
 
Quite frankly, I wasn’t going to bother with the SR22, until my friend fellow gun writer John Taffin told me that I just had to get one – he was impressed with his sample, that he did an article on, that I took his word for it, and got my own. I’m glad I did. If you do any camping, backpacking or hiking in the boonies, it’s always a good idea to have some kind of firearm on-hand – laws permitting. You never know what you might encounter out on the trail – or just have a day of fun shooting and plinking – a brick of .22 LR ammo doesn’t weigh that much, and 500 rounds will give you a fun filled day of shooting. Of course, right now, all caliber of ammo is hard to come by – thanks to the recent anti-gun legislation and Executive Orders that came down the pike. People are buying ammo like there’s no tomorrow, and in my area, there isn’t a round of .22 LR ammo to be found.
 
I honestly couldn’t find a single thing I didn’t like on the SR22 sample – it even comes with a black carrying case, that is included in the box the gun comes in – as well as the massive lock for securing the gun against unauthorized use. One other reason I like Ruger firearms is because they are simple in design – and that equates to less things to break, and more reliability. The SR22 has a retail price of $399 however, as with all Ruger firearms, you can usually find them discounted quite a bit. The SR22 is an absolute best-buy in my book, and it will give you many years of fun and the reliability factor is there – something that can’t be said about many .22 LR pistols – many are very picky about what ammo they will 100% work with – not so with the SR22. – SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Pat Cascio

Recipe of the Week:

Larry The Painter’s Chicken and Dumplings

Here is a quick, easy, and really tasty stew.
 
2 -tbsp olive oil ( vegetable oil works too )
6- boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
1- can of corn, drained, or 1 cup of frozen corn
1- large carrot, chopped, or 1 cup of frozen carrots
1- onion, chopped
3- cloves of garlic chopped
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
 1/2 teaspoon  of kosher salt
1- teaspoon of dried dill. rub dill ( between your hands to release more flavor)
1- cup of water.
 
Dumplings.
1/2 cup of flour
1/4 teaspoon of salt.
1- teaspoon of baking powder
1- egg
1/4 cup of milk
Mix it all together to make a spoonable dough
 
 
In a pot, brown chicken in the oil,  for a few minutes on medium high, just to get it brown – Maybe 2 or 3 minutes on both sides.
dump all your veggies and spices in and let it simmer for 20 minutes or so covered. 
 
Next, spoon your  dumpling batter into the stew a tablespoonful at a time, cover,  and cook for  additional 10 minutes.
 
Enjoy!

Useful Recipe and Cooking Links:

Camping Survival now has a recipe page devoted to storage food recipes.

A new blog: Survival Recipes for a Declining Empire

Currently Available as Free Kindle e-Books:

The Green Gourmet Little Book of Charcuterie : An Introduction to the Art of the Charcutier – Smoking and Curing Meats, Forcemeats, Terrines, Sausages & Blood Puddings

Recipes With Honey – For All Seasons

The Cornbread Bible: A Recipe Storybook

Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? Please send it via e-mail. Thanks!

Economics and Investing:

US expatriates urged to seek tax advice

At Zero Hedge: Chinese Politicians Are Buying Billions In U.S. Real Estate

Couple goes off grid, on to savings

Items from The Economatrix:

It’s Official.  Worst.  Recovery.  EVER.

Gallup Poll:  Americans Most Negative On Nation And Economy In 30 Years

Cities Short On Pension, Health Care Funds

Canada’s Economic Outlook Dims

More Americans Delay Retirement, Keep Working

Rise In Leading Index Signal US Expansion Into 2013

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"All of us need to be reminded that the Federal government did not create the States, the States created the Federal Government." – Ronald Wilson Reagan, January 20, 1981

Notes from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 44 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be 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, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) a $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear, E.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value), and F.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo. and G.) A $200 gift certificate, donated by Shelf Reliance.

Second Prize: A.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training. Together, these have a retail value of $589. B.) A FloJak FP-50 stainless steel hand well pump (a $600 value), courtesy of FloJak.com. C.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $300, D.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials, E.) Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value) and F.) A Tactical Trauma Bag #3 from JRH Enterprises (a $200 value).

Third Prize: A.) A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.), B.) 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, C.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value, D.) A Commence Fire! emergency stove with three tinder refill kits. (A $160 value.), and E.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security.

Round 44 ends on January 31st, 2013, and the queue is full, but you can e-mail us your entry for Round 45. 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.

What to Do if You’re Stung by a Striped Bark Scorpion, by Richard R.

4

Disclaimer: I have to say that I am not a physician and nothing I tell you is a substitute for good medical care. I am an RN with many years of experience in Emergency Room care, but that does not qualify me to advise you in medicine when there are Emergency Rooms all over the USA with qualified physicians on duty to take care of your health problem. The things I’m going to tell you only apply in a TEOTWAWKI situation. Use any information I am going to give you at your own risk.

That being said, what do you do if you’re bitten by a striped bark scorpion? First of all, let’s make sure that’s what bit you. A striped bark scorpion (or Centruriodes vattatus) is native to Northern Mexico and the Central United States, but I’ve heard it can be found all over this great nation of ours. It’s certainly the most common scorpion encountered in the US. Now, in South West United States, there is such a creature as the Arizona Bark Scorpion. It’s the most venomous scorpion in the US, but the fatality numbers are so low, it’s probably more likely that you’ll die choking on asparagus. However, knowing the difference between the two types can save your life, or your dog or your goat or whatever you have. I recommend that you look at some pictures of them right now. It’s okay, I’ll be here when you get back. I could describe them all day long, but a picture is worth a thousand words. You’ll notice that the Striped Bark Scorpion is about two to three inches long and has two broad, black stripes running down the length of its back (it’s striped, who knew). The Arizona Bark Scorpion is similar in build, but it’s more of a uniform light brown. While the striped one is venomous and its sting is highly painful; I’ve never seen anyone have a reaction more than that of a typical wasp, bee or fire ant sting. That being said, most of the tips I’m going to give you are treatments for wasp, bee or fire ant stings too. Just remember, this article is not about the Arizona bark scorpion, just the striped variety.

An ounce of prevention is worth a ton of cure. It certainly beats a mouthful of colorful expletives that you might have to explain to your small kids later on if you get stung. Striped bark scorpions tend to be nocturnal. That means they do most of their business at night. But, they sleep in cozy little places and tend be upset if you wake them; so don’t let your guard down because the sun is out. They really like dark and damp places, so if you have dark and damp places, take extra precautions. Be careful when lifting up old tree bark or wood that has been on the ground for more than a few hours. That also goes for rocks, bricks, tools, helicopters or anything that you might have laying around in the yard. When you bring firewood in, give it a good once over if you’re not putting it immediately on the fire. Keep your yard mowed and trim tree limbs so that they don’t touch your home. Invest in a cat, invest in two cats! Over the counter sprays and pesticides do very little if anything at all to kill scorpions, but cats will eat those little dudes up! If you live in the country, get some Guinea Fowl. Guineas are veracious little insectivores (omnivores, actually) and they’ll mostly leave your garden alone. You dog will be thankful for all the yummy ticks they take care of, also. As an added bonus, they lay eggs that taste like chicken eggs and cook up nicely with dumplings. Just be careful with your guineas because they’re very susceptible to predators, like cats.

Now that we know how to keep scorpions away from yourself, let’s talk about some other things we can do before TEOTWAWKI to minimize bad outcomes. After all, the very nature of prepping is having things ready before things go south. Get a tetanus shot. You should have one anyway. If you haven’t had one in the last ten years, make an appointment to get one first thing in the morning. Tetanus is a much more painful death than a scorpion sting. A tetanus shot is good for ten years, unless you have a scratch, then it’s five years. Getting one today will help you when there’s no doctor or ER to go to.  Have lots of soap on hand. Also, know the difference between soap and detergent. Most soaps you buy today are just detergent that will cut grease and make you smell nice, but they really don’t disinfect. Look for antibacterial soaps. Just in the regular world, I don’t recommend them; but for TEOTWAWKI, they’ll become essential. Lye soap can disinfect. Learn how to make it, it’s not too difficult. Make sure you have access to clean water. It’s always a good idea to not only have clean water to drink, but for first aid, also. Always know how much you weigh and how much your children weigh. It’s terrible important. There are three medications I recommend having on hand. Benadryl and Ibuprofen or Aspirin are the two most useful. The third is an EpiPen, which is available by prescription only. We’ll talk about that one later. First, let’s cover immediate first aid.

If you get stung by a striped bark scorpion, the first thing you do is scream like a little girl and dance around because it hurts like a mad bastard. You’ll know it because it almost feels like a bee sting but worse. When you calm down and regain some self control, look at where it bit you. Is the arachnid still in a place where it can sting you again or sting one of your children as they run towards you to find out why you’re expressing your filthy mouth? Is it still on your pants leg? Go ahead and kill it. Don’t worry, they’re not endangered. God will make more. Smash it with a shoe, scoop a little dirt and then bury it so it won’t sting you or your kids again. Wash it with clean water and soap. If it’s today and the lights are on, regular soap is okay. If it’s post TEOTWAWKI, then you want to use an antibacterial soap or lye soap. The risk and incidence of infection will be so much higher. If you have ice, put ice on it, but for no more than twenty-four hours. Be careful with ice, too. Placing it directly on your skin can cause frost burn. Elevate your offended body part and keep it still for about twenty-four hours. Expect to have pain and some numbness in your entire extremity for up to forty-eight hours. Never be afraid to seek medical help. If you have a reliable family doctor or an Emergency Room within a day’s drive, go see them.

Warning! Math content ahead! Before we go any further, let’s take a minute to learn how to convert pounds to kilograms. It’ll be important later if you want to save your children’s life. You take a weight in pounds and either divide it by 2.2 or multiply it times 0.45. So, if you weigh 123 pounds, 123 X 0.45=55.35 kilograms (just round it off to 55). Okay, moving on.
Benadryl is useful as an antihistamine. Basically, when you have an insect or arachnid sting, your body releases chemical called histamine.  Histamine, in turn, triggers and inflammatory response. That is what makes a bite so red and itchy. Also, if you are prone to allergic reactions to insect stings, this can be helpful in saving your life. Any medications I tell you about are best taken as soon as possible. Let me repeat that, it’ll be on the test. In the event of a scorpion sting, take these meds as soon as you can get them in your body! In a true anaphylactic (allergic) emergency, seconds count! Benadryl works by blocking histamine, therefore blocking some inflammation. If you are an adult weighing over 100 pounds, take 50 milligrams. If you have pills, you’ve wasted your money, but we’ll talk about that later. If you have twenty-five milligram pills and that’s all you have, take two of them (twenty-five plus twenty-five equals fifty, see how that works?). The reason I say that the pills are a waste of money is that the liquid works much faster. It tastes horrible, it costs more and it’s hard to store, but the faster absorption can be the difference between life and death when seconds count. Remember seconds? If you are an adult weighing over one-hundred pounds and you have Benadryl liquid that is 12.5 milligrams in a teaspoon, then take four teaspoons. If one of your children gets stung, give them Benadryl at 1 to 2 milligrams per kilogram. So, if your kid weighs 50 pounds, that’s 22.5 kilograms. 2 milligrams per kilogram turns out to be 45 milligrams of medicine (2X22.5=45). 45 milligrams divided by 12.5 milligrams = 3.6 teaspoons. Since there’s 5 milliliters in a teaspoon, we will give 18 milliliters (3.6 X 5=18).

Wow, have a headache yet?

Now, let’s talk about Ibuprofen. Ibuprofen, Motrin and Advil are all the same thing. Ibuprofen is an anti-inflammatory. So, after the histamine makes inflammation, the Ibuprofen will kick in. Still, don’t waste any time taking it. It’s okay to mix Benadryl and Ibuprofen. For grownups weighing more than 100 pounds, take 400 milligrams. Again, take a liquid. If your Ibuprofen is mixed 100 milligrams to one teaspoon for the kids give 5 milligrams per kilogram. So, if your child weighs 50 pounds, that’s 22.5 kilograms. 5 milligrams per kilogram turns out to be 112.5 milligrams of medicine (5 X 22.5=112.5). 112.5 milligrams divided by 100 milligrams = 1.125 teaspoons. We’ll just give one teaspoon.
Burns your eyes, don’t it?

Okay, next let’s talk about EpiPens. No more math, I promise. An EpiPen is available by prescription only. It’s a shot that you give to yourself if you’re having an allergic reaction to anything, insect and arachnid bites included. If you need one, make sure you see your family physician, get a prescription, get it filled and carry it with you at all times. It contains a prescribed dose of adrenaline to get you to the ER so that doctors and nurses can take it from there. If you can’t get to an ER, say a little prayer. If you know you’re allergic to insect bites and you get one in a TEOTWAWKI situation, always use your EpiPen, because it’s the best chance you have. If you use one or not, go ahead and pray. It’s never too late to get yourself right with God.
What are the symptoms you might experience when stung by a striped bark scorpion? Let’s see.  The site will be red. It’ll be painful if you mash on it.  Check and make sure there’s not a stinger left in there. A scorpion won’t leave a stinger, but a bee will and sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference. If you see a stinger, scrape it out with a clean fingernail. Numbness and tingling.  Those are the local signs. You might sweat, vomit or feel palpitations (heart fluttering). That’s less common, but it’s a sign of a more serious reaction. If you get dizzy, feel your throat and lips swelling, get restless or irritable, that’s even more serious.

The most important rule of all is to stay calm. Running around in circles and acting like a chicken with its head cut off gets you nowhere. People make mistakes when they panic and panic is much more dangerous than any insect known to man. No matter what, if you’re not sure what to do, always ask somebody who knows. Again, this information is for use only in TEOTWAWKI. Otherwise, use it at your own risk.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"The reasonings contained in these papers must have been employed to little purpose indeed, if it could be necessary now to disprove the reality of this danger.  That the people and the States should, for a sufficient period of time, elect an uninterrupted succession of men ready to betray both; that the traitors should, throughout this period, uniformly and systematically pursue some fixed plan for the extension of the military establishment; that the governments and the people of the States should silently and patiently behold the gathering storm, and continue to supply the materials, until it should be prepared to burst on their own heads, must appear to every one more like the incoherent dreams of a delirious jealousy, or the misjudged exaggerations of a counterfeit zeal, than like the sober apprehensions of genuine patriotism.  Extravagant as the supposition is, let it however be made. Let a regular army, fully equal to the resources of the country, be formed; and let it be entirely at the devotion of the federal government; still it would not be going too far to say, that the State governments, with the people on their side, would be able to repel the danger. The highest number to which, according to the best computation, a standing army can be carried in any country, does not exceed one hundredth part of the whole number of souls; or one twenty-fifth part of the number able to bear arms. This proportion would not yield, in the United States, an army of more than twenty-five or thirty thousand men. To these would be opposed a militia amounting to near half a million of citizens with arms in their hands, officered by men chosen from among themselves, fighting for their common liberties, and united and conducted by governments possessing their affections and confidence. It may well be doubted, whether a militia thus circumstanced could ever be conquered by such a proportion of regular troops. Those who are best acquainted with the last successful resistance of this country against the British arms, will be most inclined to deny the possibility of it. Besides the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation, the existence of subordinate governments, to which the people are attached, and by which the militia officers are appointed, forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition, more insurmountable than any which a simple government of any form can admit of. Notwithstanding the military establishments in the several kingdoms of Europe, which are carried as far as the public resources will bear, the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms."  – James Madison, The Federalist No. 46

Notes from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 44 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be 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, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) a $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear, E.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value), and F.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo. and G.) A $200 gift certificate, donated by Shelf Reliance.

Second Prize: A.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training. Together, these have a retail value of $589. B.) A FloJak FP-50 stainless steel hand well pump (a $600 value), courtesy of FloJak.com. C.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $300, D.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials, E.) Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value) and F.) A Tactical Trauma Bag #3 from JRH Enterprises (a $200 value).

Third Prize: A.) A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.), B.) 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, C.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value, D.) A Commence Fire! emergency stove with three tinder refill kits. (A $160 value.), and E.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security.

Round 44 ends on January 31st, 2013, and the queue is full, but you can e-mail us your entry for Round 45. 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.

Bangladesh: Lessons Learned and Brought Home, by K.G.

A few months ago, work requirements took me to a country where I’d never been before, and where, frankly, I never dreamed I’d go: Bangladesh. I’d venture to guess that few Westerners (and even fewer Western women) have had the opportunity that I recently did, and so I’d like to contribute to readers some of the experiences I had and some of the lessons I was able to bring home. Before writing further, let me say that less than two weeks in any country does not make an expert of any visitor – myself included. I can’t and won’t pretend to know more about the cultural nuances, social details, and differing world views than those ten days taught me. People are universally complex, and those residing in non-Western countries deserve this consideration no less than anyone else. But I believe that what I did glean from the travel, country, situation, and people is important enough to be shared. Perhaps you, too, will consider these lessons worthy of thought and practice, as I discovered.

To preface the following lessons, let me fill out a few more details (though, for OPSEC, not too many) about myself and my work to illustrate how I found myself bleary-eyed, sticky, and dazed in the Dhaka airport after 36 hours of sleepless flights. Very generally, I am a young researcher in the field of renewable biomass (may I add that if you’re looking to change careers, biomass- and bioenergy-related areas can put you in position to learn and apply an immense amount of information about renewable energy for less grid-reliant living). As Bangladesh is an extremely densely populated country, energy resources are becoming scarcer. When this fact is coupled with the extreme poverty that many Bengali face, it becomes clear that affordable, renewable energy is a critical resource. I was sent to an area somewhat outside of the capital city, Dhaka, to conduct a consultancy for locals also in this line of work.

Many resources – not just energy – are scarce, and Bangladesh is a challenging place to live. There is a recent history of suffering (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh#20th_century), and many young people feel stuck and without opportunity in a land where unemployment can reach 30% (as per a conversation I had with a young Bengali man). Despite these hurdles, the people I met and dialogued with were extremely bright, warm, and welcoming. They treated me, a stranger, with incredible kindness and generosity  I believe that the least I can do to recognize their resilience and to thank them for their hospitality is to remember what I learned, share it with others, and apply it in my own life. Especially in the area of preparedness, we’d do well to learn from those who live it every day.

In no particular order, the key lessons follow.

Always have duct tape, Ziploc bags, a knife, and a permanent marker.

I think I used duct tape on every day of my stay. From taping power plugs into unusual outlets (they’d fall out otherwise), to securing a battery in a critical piece of equipment, to sealing biosample bags (Ziploc, of course), duct tape did it all. I stored mine wrapped around my Nalgene bottle – a trick many of you are familiar with, I’m sure. Wrapping it around the Sharpie (used for labeling equipment and samples) might have worked better and been even more portable.

I bought an inexpensive single-blade pocket knife just for this trip, as I didn’t want to risk losing (via TSA or other means) anything nicer. However, asking anything of it beyond cutting duct tape was tenuous. On many occasions we had to shave eucalyptus kindling, and this knife simply didn’t perform. In fact, as many of you already know, flimsy, dull blades present more of a hazard than a quality knife that holds an edge.

Lesson learned: cheaper isn’t always better. Go ahead and risk keeping a nicer, higher-quality knife on you, because with a little care, it’ll be more than worth it. Also, I promise that you will find 1001 uses for duct tape and plastic bags. Everyone says it, and that’s because it’s true.

Pockets are a tool

Where do you plan to store your daily necessities (see above)? Can you carry them in your hands? Do you have a bag? Maybe you need to use your hands to teach or demonstrate, and maybe your bag is large and bulky and makes you more of a target for theft. That’s where the lowly, underrated pocket comes in. You’ll blend in better if you don’t have strange objects in your hands or an odd-looking bag on your back.

I took three pairs of pants with me on this trip (wear one, wash one, dry one), and it quickly became clear that the two pairs with cargo pockets were better tools. They were loose-fitting enough that it was never obvious that I carried a lot in my pockets. Granted, I never carried my passport or ID in pants pockets (I’d recommend a hanging, under-the-shirt neck wallet for that), but everything else (room key, cell phone, extra pen, pocket knife, spare TP…) went in the pockets quite unobtrusively.

Lesson learned: don’t bother with pants without pockets, no matter how fashionable they are. You’re just depriving yourself of one of the most basic, accessible, low-profile, and acceptable tools you could ever have. Also, look at reframing your current concept of tools. Not all of them have handles.

Try to fit in

It seemed clear to me that as a white Western female in a predominately non-white, Eastern, male-dominated culture, I just wasn’t going to fit in. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to try. I did what research I could ahead of time; despite the local library’s lack of guides to Bangladesh (apparently not a hot tourist location), even a cursory look at a web site or two provided key facts that proved crucial for adapting to my first few days in the country. Learning how to say Thank You, discovering that one always eats with one’s right hand, and coming prepared for a dearth of toilet paper prevented me from making any major faux pas during those stressful first few days of adjustment.

In fact, learning a handful of common phrases ahead of time, and repeating them often to native speakers, eventually had a beneficial consequence. At first, the woman who cooked for us (another major cultural adjustment) seemed very quiet, reserved, and uncommunicative. Although it felt awkward at times, my coworker and I decided to keep saying Good Morning, Thank You, and Good (food). After a few days of making these shaky attempts, she began to respond in English and Bengali, started teaching us a few different phrases, and even helped to correct our pronunciation! Because we made the effort to value her, her language, and her culture, she decided that we were worth investing in as well.

Though I only have my own experience to draw on, and others’ visits may have differed, it seemed to me a peculiarly American stance to enthusiastically and good-heartedly (though not without blunder!) attempt to learn local language and customs. This work trip was financed by a European aid organization. One of their employees occasionally served as our guide and liaison. Though he had been in Bangladesh for about three years, his total acquired Bengali vocabulary was less than I’d picked up in five days. I say this not to laud myself but to illustrate how different mindsets can affect how one fits into one’s surroundings. This man’s reluctance to attempt to fit in turned into a self-fulfilling prophecy, as consultancy participants seemed reticent to interact with him. Moreover, his lack of Bengali vocabulary really limited his efficacy in the job he had. By contrast, learning even a few key words (water, okay, this, that, etc.) amplified my impact on the job, as I was able to deal with needs and problems immediately, rather than minute or hours later.

In another area – clothing – mere minutes of research beforehand, coupled with a stance of humble learning, saved me days of hassle in the country. It’s not hard to learn that in Bangladesh, a country where about 80% of the population is Muslim, women dress modestly. They cover their arms and legs, and, when the call to prayer sounds, they cover their heads with the ubiquitous scarf. Picking up some long-sleeved, long-tailed shirts, a few pairs of loose-fitting pants, and a long scarf at the local thrift store was a no-brainer – anyone would’ve done that, right? Or so I thought.

One day, our European guide introduced us to another young woman working in the area. Also from the US, she was wearing a scarf, but otherwise was dressed in a very short sleeved T-shirt and capri pants. “How did you know to dress like that?” she asked me when we met. I didn’t say much, but the situation made me think. We were both young, white, Western females, but as far as I could tell, because she didn’t do her research beforehand, it would be even harder for her to fit in, do her job, and be taken seriously.

Although I’d done my research on clothing in general, I was still easy to pinpoint as an outsider, because of how I wore my scarf. Bangladeshi women don’t wrap their scarves around their necks for warmth – which is how I, disembarking from a chilly airplane, arrived at the Dhaka airport. Rather, they drape them across their shoulders in a fashion that seems almost backwards to Western eyes. This facilitates draping one end over one’s head when necessary. Coming from a culture where I’ve never been required to cover my head, I of course didn’t even think of this before my trip. Rearranging my scarf style took some getting used to, but it was absolutely worth getting rid of that mark of being an undereducated outsider.

Lesson learned: Even in the United States, different states and regions have different idioms, culturally acceptable habits, practices, ways of dressing, and more. Circumstances may force you from your home – but that doesn’t mean you have to be unwelcome elsewhere. If you try to adopt some of the language, customs, clothing, and other social norms of the place you end up, your efforts won’t go unnoticed, and might even gain you the appreciation of the locals. In fact, even doing a little bit of homework ahead of time could put you miles ahead of others. You’ll be able to do what you need to do quicker and easier, and you’ll be in a better position to both give and receive help.

You might never fit it
Is it odd that I should say this right after describing all the ways I tried to fit in? I don’t think so – I think it’s realistic, and here’s why.

After a long but intense ten days of work and cultural immersion, my coworker and I found ourselves once again at the Dhaka airport, ready to begin the long journey home. This time, though, I was wearing my scarf correctly! As the call to prayer sounded over the airport loudspeakers, I pulled my scarf over my head, and kept reading to pass the time. Two local men sat down with my male coworker and began chatting with him. I overheard one of them asking him if I were Muslim. The more I’ve thought about that question, the more I believe it summarizes my brief experience in Bangladesh.

I did as much as I reasonably could to integrate myself into their culture – I ate their food in their manner, tried to speak their language, and dressed in a fashion as inconspicuous as I could manage, yet I was still noticeably foreign. This placed me in a gray area, where it wasn’t always obvious that I didn’t belong. Although I looked Western, certain practices started to mark me as less of an outsider, enough so that folks had to ask.

It would’ve been unwise, though, to let that experience go to my head, and to start imagining that adopting a few behaviors and customs suddenly gave me a free pass in their country. Like I said, a week or two in any region is barely scratching the surface of what it means to be from there.

Lesson learned: Even though you may have done everything right, it’ll be a long time before you’re thought of as a local. That’s okay – as long as you remember that. While it’s always worth it to try to blend in with a new culture, don’t let that initial effort lull you into thinking that you’ve succeeded. Know exactly what makes you stand out from others, and how to cope should that be used against you.

Be alert (and not a target)

On the second evening of my stay, some workshop participants offered to take me and my coworker to the local open-air market. Of course, we accepted — adventure, here we come! In Dhaka, which is much closer to the equator than my hometown, sunrise and sunset aren’t the gradual processes I was used to. Night falls quite rapidly, so even by 6 p.m. or so, it was nearly pitch-dark outside. Five participants walked us down a bumpy, puddly dirt alleyway — but which direction? I couldn’t remember where the sun had set, and there was no residual light in the sky to indicate which way was west. Still, I didn’t have to be out of luck. As long as I could find other landmarks and mnemonics, I was going to do fine.

I started by memorizing exactly what all the group members were wearing. I couldn’t rely on staying with the same person throughout the crowded market, so I had to know who I knew and who I didn’t. I also wasn’t going to be able to rely on my language skills (40 words maximum), my ethnicity (minority) or my gender (inferior) to see me through if I got lost or separated from the group. But even if I’d done that, if I’d zoned out with an iPod or texting, that memory work wouldn’t have served me at all. A minute or two — or, frankly, a second or two — of technological distraction, and I could’ve been seriously lost.
Lesson learned: Your memory is a tool; sharpen it accordingly. But don’t rely just on a good memory — make sacrifices (less music, less texting, more difficult mental focus) to insure your safety.

Don’t rely on the grid

Thrice-daily brownouts, often lasting over an hour each, were the rule during my stay. One would usually happen right before dinnertime, which made sense, as using electricity to prepare 12 million meals would put an enormous stress on the system. (Ostensibly, it’s illegal to use electricity to cook food in Dhaka, and folks are supposed to use LPG or biomass, but regulating cooking-related electricity use would be a gargantuan task.) The first few evening brownouts caught me by surprise. I had to figure out where I’d stashed my flashlight, whether the matches were on the desk or the table, and what the best location was for the candles. Planning for the evening brownout became routine, though. By keeping my flashlight in my pocket (see above tip) at all times, I knew I could quickly transition into no-grid-power versions of my tasks, rather than wasting valuable time searching for a way to light my work. It became easy, once I established a routine, to continue washing clothes in the bathroom bucket with no or minimal light.

The other one or two brownouts could happen at any time – including when we were teaching or making presentations. This meant that we couldn’t use the projector to display slide shows. At first, we tried to continue teaching by passing around the laptop and showing slides to each of the participants individually. We quickly learned that this wasn’t a good use of anyone’s time. Fortunately, there was a dry-erase whiteboard in the classroom, and we discovered that even when the power came back on, this was a better option for teaching. Drawing out concepts and processes forced us to slow down our teaching – a benefit for non-English speakers. This facilitated more participation and interaction; so, oddly enough, operating in a grid-down situation led me and my coworker to a better teaching solution that we wouldn’t have thought of otherwise.

Lesson learned: Be flexible, creative, industrious, and forward-thinking. Boredom can be a signal of complacency and unpreparedness. You may not be able to plan for specific changes, but you can know that change will come and can avoid expending energy on being surprised every time you encounter change.

Use the grid
Again, it may seem strange to advocate using power right after suggesting not relying on it, but I see a difference between mindless reliance and pragmatic opportunism.

Although electricity may not have been reliable in Bangladesh, it was still there most of the time. I observed many cell phone users plugging their chargers into the wall right after a brownout would end. The mindset seemed to be that because the power situation was so unpredictable, it was best to use it whenever it was on, so that you wouldn’t be caught needing it when it was off. This ran counter to my Western notion of taking care of what I needed only when signaled to do so – i.e., when my cell phone battery was clearly running low. In Bangladesh, it would be difficult to make it through a day without having planned ahead and taken care of needs before they became obstacles.

Lesson learned: Use the resources you currently have to prepare for probable scarcities in the future. Don’t imagine that things will always stay as they are – use what you have now to make it through leaner times that will inevitably arrive.

Use what’s there and make it work

Toilet paper and silverware are not cultural norms in Bangladesh for the majority of people. I discovered that some things I thought I actually needed were quite a bit more negotiable than previously assumed. For example, I came to enjoy eating with my hands; plus, their culture accommodates that practice with sinks and soap everywhere. However, the lack of toilet paper was tougher to deal with. One workaround that I resorted to was actually related to dining. Paper napkins are big in Bangladesh (due, of course, to using one’s hands to eat), and every table will have them – or, at least, some Kleenex. I started stowing these in my pockets (see above tip) just in case the bathroom I accessed was out of TP – which, half the time, it would be. If I’d stayed longer, maybe I could’ve learned how to use the “squatty potties” to better effect. That would’ve removed the need to always be squirreling away the TP. But in the time I had there, I created a workable solution.

Lesson learned: Your cultural norms might not be anyone else’s, and so you’ll have to adapt to what’s there — or what’s not there. If you can’t immediately find a solution, don’t quit. Other cultural or social differences might hold the answer.

Don’t assume they’ll have it

My camera ran out of batteries a few days into the trip. How hard could it be to pick up a few AA’s – right? Wrong! The closest store was outside walls of the campus where we were based. I would’ve had to walk through a neighborhood where I didn’t belong, to a store that might not have even sold batteries, pay with bills that I now realize were of ostentatiously large denomination, receive correct change and be polite in a language I barely understood, and made it back to campus without drawing attention to myself. Plus, I didn’t even know if it was culturally appropriate for a woman to shop for batteries on her own. Weird question? Maybe not — but I didn’t know. I hadn’t planned ahead.

Lesson learned: I returned home with only 6 photos, plenty of memories, and a realization that I should never assume that anyone will ever have what I need when I need it. I am, to a large degree, responsible for my own needs. Knowing what your basic (and more complex) needs are now will prevent unpleasant surprises in the future — in fact, the question is really whether you’d rather be surprised by your needs now or later.

Keep a low profile – and it might look different than you think

This relates to trying to fit in. Often, those involved in the preparedness community tout the benefits of donning drab or earth-toned clothing (see: Gray Man Concept), carrying a low-profile backpack, and wearing sensible, closed-toed shoes. All great tips – for where I normally live in the US. Dressing like this would’ve immediately made me stand out in Bangladesh, where hardly anyone (men included) wears closed-toed shoes or boots, drab-colored clothing is uncommon, and men and women both carry more fashionably-styled rucksacks or purses. Where I was staying, the best way to keep a low profile would’ve looked pretty high-profile here: brightly-colored and patterned clothing, sandals, and a purse.

Lesson learned: Think outside the box when it comes to what it means to be low-profile. Investigate what’s normal for the area to where you might travel or move. Be willing to let go of personal stylistic preferences, possibly for a long time. Understand that the Gray Man Concept might not always literally mean wearing just gray.

Be grateful for what you have and where you are

One of the most poignant parts of my trip came during a conversation with Nayeem, a young man also working in the field of bioenergy. He described how he joined the film club at his university, and began watching Russian, German, American, and other movies. As he spoke, it became clear that he wasn’t watching flicks and eating popcorn just for fun. This was his only way out of Bangladesh. Despite being bright, hard-working, driven, and successful, Nayeem knew that even if he saved everything he earned for almost his whole life, his chances of leaving his country for a better future were essentially nonexistent. But through film, he could, at least for an hour or two, live elsewhere.

Lesson learned: I’ve been incredibly blessed by being born into this country at this time. Despite the problems facing me, I’m grateful I currently have the freedom to live a life where the work I do can concretely manifest itself in the direction I choose to take. I’m not stuck – and I’d find it hard to believe that any of us in the US really are. It might be hard to make changes, but I’m glad I still can.

A final note

It’s possible that some readers may have also traveled to Bangladesh, and probably had different trips than I had. I’d like to reiterate that my experience was just that – mine. It can’t on its own represent any sort of average experience, nor should it. YMMV, as they say.

Feinstein’s Ban Bill: A Study in Stupidity

Senator-For-Life Dianne Feinstein’s recently-introduced firearms and magazine ban bill is not only unconstitutional but also incredibly poorly written. It is riddled with typographical errors, inconsistencies, illogical construction, lapses, and some redundancies to existing laws. For example, the bill calls out the “Streetsweeper’ and “Striker 12” even though several years ago both of those those shotguns reclassified as “Destructive Devices, making them subject to a $200 Federal transfer tax!

FWIW, I am not going to spell out the typos and the nonexistent models, simply because I don’t want provide Comrade Feinstein with potential corrections to her horrible legislation. Suffice to say, there are lots of errors.

The ban bill works two different ways “by description” and also “by name.” (The latter, by the way, makes this an unconstitutional Bill of Attainder.) There are 157 specifically-named firearms.

The “by description” portion of the bill would ban the sale, transfer, manufacturing and importation of:

All semiautomatic rifles that can accept a detachable magazine and have at least one military feature: pistol grip; forward grip; folding, telescoping, or detachable stock; grenade launcher or rocket launcher; barrel shroud; or threaded barrel.

All semiautomatic pistols that can accept a detachable magazine and have at least one military feature: threaded barrel; second pistol grip; barrel shroud; capacity to accept a detachable magazine at some location outside of the pistol grip; or semiautomatic version of an automatic firearm.

All semiautomatic rifles and handguns that have a fixed magazine with the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds.

All semiautomatic shotguns that have a folding, telescoping, or detachable stock; pistol grip; fixed magazine with the capacity to accept more than 5 rounds; ability to accept a detachable magazine; forward grip; grenade launcher or rocket launcher; or shotgun with a revolving cylinder.

All ammunition feeding devices (magazines, strips, and drums) capable of accepting more than 10 rounds.

List of Firearms Prohibited by Name:

Rifles
All AK types, including the following: AK, AK47,AK47S, AK-74, AKM, AKS, ARM, MAK90, MISR, MHM90, MHM91, Rock River Arms LAR-47, SA85, SA93, Vector Arms AK-47, VEPR, WASR-10 and WUM, IZHMASH Saiga AK, MAADI AK47 and ARM, Norinco 56S, 56S2, 84S and 86S, Poly Technologies AK47 and AKS;
All AR types, including the following: AR-10, AR-15, Armalite M15 22LR Carbine, Armalite M15-T, Barrett REC7, Beretta AR-70, Bushmaster ACR, Bushmaster Carbon 15, Bushmaster MOE series, Bushmaster XM15, Colt Match Target Rifles, DoubleStar AR rifles, DPMS Tactical Rifles, Heckler & Koch MR556, Olympic Arms, Remington R-15 rifles, Rock River Arms LAR-15, Sig Sauer SIG516 rifles, Smith & Wesson M&P15 rifles, Stag Arms AR rifles, Sturm, Ruger & Co. SR556 rifles;

Barrett M107A1; Barrett M82A1, Beretta CX4 Storm; Calico Liberty Series; CETME Sporter; Daewoo K-1, K-2 Max 1, Max 2, AR 100 and AR 100C;
Fabrique Nationale/FN Herstral FAL, LAR 22 FNC, 308 Match, L1A1 Sporter, PS90, SCAR and FS2000
Feather Industries AT-9
Galil Model AR and Model ARM
Hi-Point Carbine; HK-91, HK-93, HK-94, HK-PSG-1 and HK USC
Kel-Tec Sub-2000, SU-16 and RFB, SIG AMT, SIG PE-57, Sig Sauer SG 500 and Sig Sauer SG 551
Springfield Armory SAR-48
Steyr AUG
Sturm, Ruger Mini-14 Tactical Rifle M-14/20CF
All Thompson rifles, including the following: Thompson M1SB, ThompsonT1100D, Thompson T150D, Thompson T1B, Thompson T1B100D, Thompson T1B50D, Thompson T1BSB, Thompson T1-C, Thompson T1D, Thompson T1SB, Thompson T5, Thompson T5100D, Thompson TM1, Thompson TM1C
UMAREX UZI rifle, UZI mini carbine and UZI Model B Carbine
Valmet M62S, M71S and M78
Vector Arms USI Type
Weaver Arms Nighthawk
Wilkinson Arms Linda Carbine

Pistols
All AK-47 types, including the following: Centurion 39 AK pistol, Draco AK-47 pistol, HCR AK-47 pistol, IO Inc. Hellpup AK-47 pistol, Krinkov Pistol, Mini Draco AK-47 pistol, Yugo Krebs Krink pistol
All AR-15 types, including the following: American Spirit Ar-15 pistol, Bushmaster Carbon 15 pistol, DoubleStar Corporation AR pistol, DPMS AR-15 pistol, Olympic Arms AR-15 pistol
Encom MP-9 and MP-45
Heckler & Koch model SP-89 pistol
Intratec AB-10, TEC-22 Scorpion, TEC-9 and TEC-DC9
Kel-Tex PLR 16 pistol
The following MAC types: MAC-10, MAC-11 Masterpiece Arms MPA A930 Mini Pistol, MPA460 Pistol, MPA Tactical Pistol and MPA Mini Tactical Pistol
Military Armament Corp. INgram M-11, Velocity Arms VMAC
Sig Saur P556 pistol
Sites Spectre
All Thompson, types including the following: Thompson TA510D, Thompson TA5
All UZI types, including: Micro-UZI

Shotguns
Franchi LAW-12 and SPAS 12
All IZHMASH Saiga 12 types, including the following: IZHMASH Saiga 12, IZHMASH Saiga 12S, IZHMASH Saiga 12S EXP-01, IZHMASH Saiga 12K, IZHMASH Saiga 12K-030, IZHMASH Saiga 12K-040 Taktika; Streetsweeper, Striker 12.

Belt-fed semiautomatic firearms
All belt-fed semiautomatic firearms, including: TNW M2HB

Additional details can be found here.

Please contact you congress members and insist that they oppose this horribly flawed and unconstitutional legislation. The congressional contact links at the Ruger web site are quick and easy to use.

Closing Note from JWR: In the unlikely event that this bill passes it will be ESSENTIAL to immediately set up a family firearms trust. That way, transfers within your trust (among the trust beneficiaries) can still be made at will, multi-generationally.