Five Letters Re: The FBI’s Cookie Caper and the VPN Imperative

JWR:
Can you let your readers know what the names, identifying characteristics, and other information is that we can use to check and see if we have the FBI installed cookies on our machines? Thanks, – J.V.

Web Forensics Expert Mr. X. Replies: First let me explain how to look for cookies.  The easiest way IMHO (there is more than one way to skin a cat, my favorite method involves using high-pressure air…) because it is easy and anybody can do it with little or no chance of [accidentally] nuking their own machine:

In Internet Explorer, go into the File –> Import and Export setting.  You are given a choice of three actions – import from another browse, import from a file, or export to a file.  Choose export to a file and hit “next.”  You are given three options to export — favorites, feeds, and cookies.  Export cookies by selecting the box and clicking next.  Save the file in a location that you can then find.

When you open the file all of the cookies you’ve used will show up.  And since its a text file it is searchable.  You can do a search on “FBI” … I did this and found:

fbi.gov    TRUE    /    FALSE    1394696342    __utma    158289773.903355577.1331260742.1331260742.1331260742.1

fbi.gov    TRUE    /    FALSE    1331626142    __utmb    158289773.3.10.1331260742

fbi.gov    TRUE    /    FALSE    1347392342    __utmz    158289773.1331260742.1.1.utmcsr=dogpile.com|utmccn=(referral)|utmcmd=referral|utmcct=/search/web

So what this tells you is that there is a tracking cookie from the FBI on your machine.  In this case this tracking cookie comes from dogpile.com (see the last line) which is a search engine that I use frequently.  The problem is that you never know what they will call their cookies.  The aforementioned example has nothing to do with your web site at all.  And I’ve picked up in the past few hours since its Monday here (I scrub down each weekend) just doing searches for topics at work.

There is a similar method in Firefox but given the number of add-ons for Firefox and the different platforms it is on putting directions for each possible combination in would just confuse most people. 

To eliminate the cookies and history you do that via the Tools –> Internet Options option and check off the “Delete Browsing History On Exit” box and/or hit the “Delete” button in the same space (should be on the opening tab of the Internet Options). 

Yes, the only reason I noticed this was because they have not done anything to try to hide what they are doing.  So the obvious stuff is well pretty darn obvious.

There are tools out there like Spybot Search and Destroy that will automatically eliminate the bulk of “bad” tracking cookies that are hidden as well.  There are a number of things you can do to scrub your machine and get very paranoid about your browsing but they are not things that most people should do simply because if you don’t know what you are doing you have a good chance of [inadvertently] nuking your machine. 

 

James:
I read your blog post about the FBI’s cookie caper and it brought to mind an overview article about The Onion Router (Tor) that I came across a while back

Here is a quote from the Tor web site:

Tor is a network of virtual tunnels that allows people and groups to improve their privacy and security on the Internet. It also enables software developers to create new communication tools with built-in privacy features. Tor provides the foundation for a range of applications that allow organizations and individuals to share information over public networks without compromising their privacy.
Individuals use Tor to keep websites from tracking them and their family members, or to connect to news sites, instant messaging services, or the like when these are blocked by their local Internet providers. Tor’s hidden services let users publish web sites and other services without needing to reveal the location of the site. Individuals also use Tor for socially sensitive communication: chat rooms and web forums for rape and abuse survivors, or people with illnesses.
Journalists use Tor to communicate more safely with whistleblowers and dissidents. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) use Tor to allow their workers to connect to their home website while they’re in a foreign country, without notifying everybody nearby that they’re working with that organization.
Groups such as Indymedia recommend Tor for safeguarding their members’ online privacy and security. Activist groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) recommend Tor as a mechanism for maintaining civil liberties online. Corporations use Tor as a safe way to conduct competitive analysis, and to protect sensitive procurement patterns from eavesdroppers. They also use it to replace traditional VPNs, which reveal the exact amount and timing of communication. Which locations have employees working late? Which locations have employees consulting job-hunting websites? Which research divisions are communicating with the company’s patent lawyers?
A branch of the U.S. Navy uses Tor for open source intelligence gathering, and one of its teams used Tor while deployed in the Middle East recently. Law enforcement uses Tor for visiting or surveilling web sites without leaving government IP addresses in their web logs, and for security during sting operations.
The variety of people who use Tor is actually part of what makes it so secure. Tor hides you among the other users on the network, so the more populous and diverse the user base for Tor is, the more your anonymity will be protected.

Regards, – D.D.

 

James Wesley:
Thanks for the post on the FBI cookie caper.  It is distressing, but enlightening about the times we live in.

I’m writing about your change of heart on posting the foresee-alive.js script.  The FBI posts this code on their fbi.gov site. It is available here.

I thought that link might be helpful to some.  I guess maybe those people that are savvy enough to read the script and interpret the code are probably already savvy enough to find it on their own, but I thought just in case I would send this on to you.

Also, I agree with your decision that it’s probably wise to not post the code directly, but I believe that since they did not post any copyright information it is therefore public domain like any other government publication.  Otherwise, they would have to indicate it as a protected work from an outside party.  But that’s my non-professional opinion, and “you’re the doctor” as they say.

Thanks for keeping the flame of freedom burning! – B.C.

 

Dear Mr Rawles;
I read your announcement about “The FBI’s Cookie Caper and the VPN Imperative”. Thanks very much for your candor. However, I believe some of your information is mistaken or missing. Here are the most important points I saw:

Disabling cookies will not remove others’ ability to track you. At best, disabling cookies only makes it a little harder. There are plenty of other ways to track you, including data collection and silent install of malware on your computer to record your keystrokes. Here is an example.

Using a paid VPN does not ensure your security. Here is a good explanation as to why this is true.
A better solution is to use The Onion Router (Tor) and/or Tails and their associated applications. There is also Orbot, an Android app to allow Tor Anonymity browsing on an Android phone. I have and use these. Granted, they are not always the simplest in terms of user friendliness, but once set up they should rarely need changes due to their structure. The Tor Browser, however, is about as simple as it gets on the web.

Not all of the listed browsers are safe to use. Some are outdated (Netscape), and others are inherently flawed from a security standpoint (such as Internet Explorer). More importantly, only two that I know of offer Anonymous Browsing – Firefox and Chrome. Please add the Tor Browser to this list, which is by far the best method for anonymous browsing available to the average user.

SurvivalBlog.com [has a working encrypted https address, but] is not yet HTTPS Everywhere enabled. This means that even if the visitor is using the Tor network, traffic between a Tor server and SurvivalBlog.com is still unencrypted, and vulnerable to spying and/or attack. Please join the HTTPS Everywhere project.

Much of this may sound like an advertisement for the Tor Project, but the reason for that is that the Tor Project is the best method I have found to secure your privacy online, if used properly. (Never identify yourself on the Tor Network.)

Thanks for your consideration in these matters. Sincerely, – I Am John Galt   

 

Dear Mr. Rawles,
I just took your advice on setting up a VPN.  I have been using an anonymizing proxy for some time and living with the speed decrease, but it’s just so easy to turn it off for something and then forget to turn it back on.  At any rate, I went looking for a VPN provider that is (A) domestic and (B) accepts bitcoin.  It’s just one less way to be trackable since the payments won’t show up on any bank or credit card statement.

At any rate, I found one: based in Chicago, I am now using CamoList VPN and have had a very nice conversation with the proprietor about bitcoin.  Service is $5 a month.  Bandwidth is up to 5 mbps, but that actually doesn’t matter to me since I live in the boonies and have to make do with 1 mbps on my end.  Just thought I’d pass this along for anyone else who might be interested. – Buckaroo

Economics and Investing:

Cadet D. sent this: The Four Biggest Downside Risks To The Global Economy: Nouriel Roubini

CBO: Exploding debt under Obama policies. The article begins: “The Congressional Budget Office said Friday that President Barack Obama’s tax and spending policies will yield $6.4 trillion in deficits over the next decade, more than double the shortfall in CBO’s own fiscal baseline — even after taking credit for reduced war costs.

G.G. suggested this, over at Jesse’s Café Américain: Episodes of Hyperinflation from Diocletian to Bernanke – How It Might Unfold Today

The U.S. Economy Is Running On Borrowed Money and On Borrowed Time
 
Do They Ring A Tinker Bell When Stock Market Indices Reach A Top?

Odds ‘n Sods:

Linda U. sent this news link from Wyoming: Fear & reloading: More people are buying guns amid worries about Obama’s re-election and predictions of the world’s impending doom.

   o o o

Mary F. liked this piece, which she described as “Prepping as performance art”: Building a Better Apocalypse

   o o o

Ulysses Press (one of my publishers) sent me an update on the printing history for “Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse”. I was amazed to see that there are now 122,000 copies in print:
Nov. 2011 –    20,000 copies
Apr. 2011 –    24,000 copies
Aug. 2010 –   18,000 copies
Sept. 2009 –  12,000 copies
May 2009 –   8,000 copies
Apr. 2009 –    20,000 copies
Mar. 2009 –    11,000 copies
Feb. 2009 –    9,000 copies

(For comparison, a typical American novel sells between 5,000 to 10,000 copies before going out of print in less than a year.) It is now obvious that there will have to be at least one more printing of “Patriots” before my third novel (titled “Founders”) is released in October, 2012 by the Atria Books Division of Simon & Schuster.

   o o o

Greg P. mentioned this fascinating invention: Chumby co-founder designs open-source Geiger counter

   o o o

Eric Holder 1995 Video: “…really brainwash people into thinking about guns in a vastly different way”. (Thanks to The MSIV for the link.)

Important Message From JWR: The FBI’s Cookie Caper and the VPN Imperative

It has come to my attention that from August of 2011 to November of 2011, the FBI secretly redirected the web traffic of more than 10% of SurvivalBlog’s US visitors through CJIS, their sprawling data center situated on 900 acres, 10 miles from Clarksburg, West Virginia. There, the Feebees surreptitiously collected the IP addresses of my site visitors. In all, 4,906 of 35,494 selected connections ended up going to or through the FBI servers. (Note that this happened several months before we moved our primary server to Sweden.) Furthermore, we discovered that the FBI attached a long-lived cookie that allowed them to track the sites that readers subsequently visited. I suspect that the FBI has done the same to hundreds of other web sites. I find this situation totally abhorrent, and contrary to the letter of 4th Amendment as well as the intent of our Founding Fathers.

I recognize that I am making this announcement at the risk of losing some readers. So be it. But I felt compelled to tell my readers immediately, because it was the honorable and forthright course of action.

Working on my behalf, some volunteer web forensics experts dissected some cached version histories. (Just about everything is available on the Internet, and the footprints and cookie crumb trails that you leave are essentially there for a lifetime.) The volunteers found that the bulk of the FBI redirects were selected because of a reader’s association with “Intellectual Property” infringing sites like the now defunct Megaupload.  But once redirected, you were assigned a cookie.  However, some of these were direct connections to the SurvivalBlog site (around 4% of the total.) So if they had kept this practice up long enough and if you visited us enough times then the FBI’s computers would have given you a cookie. This has been verified with sniffer software.

Bad Cop, No Donuts Cookies

For your privacy, I strongly recommend that you disable cookies when web browsing. Here are some detailed instructions on how to do so for the most popular web browsers:

But beyond that, more must be done to protect your privacy. You need to be proactive.

Install and Use VPN!

I am now imploring all SurvivalBlog readers to immediately install and use Virtual Private Network (VPN) on their computers. This will allow you to surf the Internet anonymously. Anyone that tries to track web site visitors e-mails will see your visit as originating from one of dozens of anonymous URLs in Europe, or elsewhere in the United States. (With most VPN services, you may pick the city of your choice.) With VPN active, your connection to the Web is “tunneled”, emerging at a far-distant IP address, and it it would be very difficult to track back to your home IP address. Setting up VPN takes just a few minute to accomplish. Once installed, you can set VPN to turn on automatically by default when you start your PC, Mac, or Linux computer. Most VPN providers charge $5 to $20 per month. You can toggle off VPN with the click of your mouse. (You will find this necessary if you visit any of the few web site that disallow overseas IP addresses, such as Netflix). But I recommend that you leave VPN turned on, as much as possible. Set it up to turn on each time that you start up your computer. It is crucial that you use VPN whenever you visit web sites, blogs, and forums that are deemed politically incorrect, or whenever you purchase storage food or firearms accessories on the Web. For those of you that are not tech savvy, ask a friend or relative under age 25 to set up VPN for you. It is not difficult.

Some recommended VPN service providers include:

  • StrongVPN ($55 to $240 per year. One of the most flexible in reassigning the far end of your tunnel on the fly. Superior speed.)
  • 12VPN ($79 per year.)
  • AceVPN ($55 per year. A bare bones service, but one of the least expensive.)
  • VPNHQ. ($84 per year.)
  • PureVPN. ($75 per year for their basic service.)

(Some reviews of the various services are available here. )

Note that some of the lower cost services might see your connection speed suffer. Your Internet connect will seem noticeably slower than using your original ISP, alone.

It is my hope that in the next two months SurvivalBlog’s site visit map will shift substantially, giving the appearance that most of my readership has moved to Switzerland. Say “Ein Glück, dass wir den los sind” to the FBI’s snooping! It would warm my heart to soon see SurvivalBlog ranked as one of the most popular web sites for readers with Swiss IP addresses.

Beyond VPN

Because government agencies have access to lots and lots of computing power, VPN is not completely impenetrable. It is vulnerable to penetration during the key exchange phase. With the resources available to a state actor, sniffing the entirety of the traffic into and out of a web site is trivial these days. (They can use massively scalable horizontally-scaled virtual sniffers — i.e. using a visualization engine and a template they can keep adding more virtualized instances of a windows or Linux based sniffer program and not even impact the performance of the connections.) I believe that the next loop of the threat spiral in the privacy wars will be Quantum Key Distribution (QKD). But I must clarify that this will become important only for the most high profile media commentators, bloggers, and activists. This is because all the spook legions with all of the mainframe computers in the world simply cannot backtrack everyone’s VPN tunnels. (And, as VPN becomes more and more popular, this supposed goal will become even more elusive.) And if you are high profile, don’t worry. Some very bright people are already working on QKD. Stay tuned.

Our Liberty is Stake

I want apologize for the cost, inconvenience and time required in implementing the foregoing security measures. But you can sleep a little better, knowing that you’ve added a layer of anonymity to your Internet presence. We need to recognize that the early 21st Century is a delicate time for individual liberty. Technology is leapfrogging while at the same time databases are filling at an alarming rate. These databases could provide dossiers on demand, for nefarious purposes. How you vote and how you “vote with your feet” (physically or virtually) are both of tremendous importance. Pray hard. Choose wisely. Act accordingly.

P.S.: For those who are web software savvy, I had originally planned to post the latest version of the actual “foresee-alive.js” Javascript code that the FBI used to attach the cookies. But then it was pointed out to me that ironically, revealing this might constitute copyright infringement, opening me up to a intellectual property lawsuit. That has an odd sort of irony that got me thinking. This predicament somehow dovetails with two bits of history. The first instance is from the First World War: I have read that the U.S. Government paid patent license fees to Mauser before and during the hostilities of the Great War with Imperial Germany. This was because the M1903 Springfield rifle was correctly adjudged a patent infringement on the Mauser Model 1898. During the war, the patent payments continued, conveniently handled by Swiss bankers, acting as middlemen. The U.S. taxpayers paid Mauser of Germany about $1 per rifle plus additional penalties that would have eventually totaled $250,000 USD, up until the U.S. entered the war. It has also been rumored that some payments continued to arrive even after the U.S. Congress declared war on the Kaiser’s Germany. (We’ll have to wait for the release of Jon Speed’s next Mauser book to read the details.) This historical tidbit is just once notch below what happened two decades later when Germany’s Nazi regime had the temerity to sell full fare train tickets to some Jews, to cover the costs of their forced relocation to the designated ghettos before their planned extermination. Oh, but the Nazi bureaucrats were so conciliatory. They only charged children half fare to be sent to their deaths. (If you doubt this, then read the book Fathoming the Holocaust by Ronald J. Berger.)

Mike Williamson’s Product Review: ATI AK Strikeforce Stock

I like the AK platform, but I’ve never liked the standard military issue stock.  I’m too tall, and the shape of it means I can’t get my head low enough for a good sight picture, so I have to scrunch and contort to shoot.

ATI sent me their AK-47 Strikeforce Stock Package to try.  I’ve heard criticism of their products over the years, but, while I’ve made some of my own regarding functional details, I’ve never had a problem with their workmanship or reliability.

The instructions are clear, and you should pay attention to them.  The lower handguard, for example, goes on slightly differently from the factory guard.  They’re easy enough to follow, and an Allen wrench, Phillips and Torx screwdrivers are all that are needed for installation.

The buttstock assembly bolted right in place.  Due to variances in manufacture, you may need to shim the receiver tang slightly.  The stock is made of  DuPont® Extreme Temperature Glass Reinforced Polymer, and feels solid.  The castle nut is steel, not cheap aluminum.  There is a locking tang to prevent the tube from rotating loose.

With the six-position stock collapsed, it has the same length of pull as the factory AK stock, but, I was able to get a much more comfortable cheek weld and stance.  Two clicks out was a perfect, comfortable fit, leaving four more clicks for people even taller than me. (I have 1.5″ extensions on my AR15A2 stocks, for reference.)  There is a cheek rest with stick on rubber padding, but I didn’t need it.  The cheek rest attaches with four screws. The AK isn’t a hard recoiling gun, but it can be a bit brisk with the metal buttplate and mount angle.  The recoil pad is just thick enough to take out any bite.  The rubber material is made by 3M.

The grip is large and comfortable.  The backstrap is cushioned, and the finger grooves felt right.  My finger pad dropped exactly onto the trigger.

There are rail sections for the upper and lower handguards, that install with screws.  If you decide not to install them, there are covers for the slots, that insert easily, remain in place, but remove from inside without difficulty.

Once set up, the rifle was easy, almost instinctive to handle and mount, balanced better and shot great.  Furniture can’t directly improve accuracy, but operator comfort and handling certainly does.

Criticisms:  The lower handguard was very tough to get in place.  I’ve seen this before with ATI products, though I don’t know if there’s a fix.  Snug is good, and increases strength and reliability.  Just be advised you may have to work at it to get it in place.

The grip was comfortable for me, but may be overly large for some small shooters.  I’d also like to see the internal space exploited for storage. 

The stock assembly should have a somewhat heavier screw, in my opinion.  The single 8-32 seems a bit light.  A 12-24 at least would be my recommendation, or a 6mm x 1mm.

If I were to offer one improvement, that empty buffer tube should have a plug or screw thread at the rear, so it can be used for storage.  It’s right there, waiting.

If you like the AK, but are a taller shooter, this may be exactly the accessory kit for you.  It looked a bit odd at first, but I’m quickly getting used to it, and plan to leave it on one of my AKs for the future.

The kit retails at $144.99, or, if you prefer to buy just the stock, the MSRP is $79.99, on par with most six- position stocks.  Both are available discounted at several outlets.

ATI Stocks are made in the USA.

Disclosure:  ATI furnished me the stock set through a promotional firm for test and evaluation.  It is understood that I keep this sample, regardless of the review I write, and that I offer feedback on any problems I identify.

– Michael Z. Williamson, SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large

Rabies – Coming Your Way? by Dr. Cynthia J. Koelker

Rabies – a legitimate concern or fear-mongering? 
As I watch my pet Golden Retriever “Doodles” cautiously sniff at the curb sewer, I believe the threat is real.  A family of raccoons lives in the sewer pipes, and just a few months ago a local dog died of raccoon rabies.  Could my children be next?

Ohio is on the frontier of raccoon rabies, but despite yearly aerial and ground baiting programs for oral rabies vaccination, the uniformly lethal infection is moving westward.  Bat rabies, the other common threat, is distributed more evenly across the United States.  (If you’re wondering about your own state, check out the maps at Rabid Raccoons Reported in the United States during 2010 and Rabid Bats Reported in the United States during 2010. 

Odds are you’re unaware of anyone who’s died of rabies. That might not be the case if you live in India.  In the U.S., human rabies is so rare that every case is investigated by the CDC (only 2–4 per year). In India, annual deaths top 20,000, with someone dying of rabies every 30 minutes. (Read this article.) This is largely due to under-vaccination of the dog population.  Per the World Health Organization, 15 million people worldwide are treated with post-exposure vaccination, which is estimated to prevent 327,000 rabies deaths annually.

So what would happen in America if the vaccine became unavailable and the population of stray dogs exploded? This could well occur in a true end-of-life-as-we-know-it scenario.  Though our population density is not that of India, clearly the number of cases would skyrocket. 

The next logical question is: what can be done about it?  Avoiding contact with bats, raccoons, wild canines, skunks, and suspicious dogs is obviously indicated.  Even pacifists may be motivated to acquire a gun and the knowledge to use one safely.  Clearly you should vaccinate pets and other domestic animals now. 

But what about pre-exposure vaccination in humans?  This is already recommended for veterinary students, spelunkers, and travelers to endemic regions where dog contact is likely.  In 2009 a Virginia physician diagnosed his own subsequently fatal case of rabies a few months after returning from India – and without suspicious animal exposure! His agonizing end is detailed at the CDC web site. 

If you ask your family doctor whether you should be vaccinated against rabies in case of widespread disaster, the answer will likely be no.  At a cost of up to $800 for the series of three shots, your insurance is unlikely to cover immunizations without a clear indication. However, if you visit a travel clinic, perhaps at your local health department, you may be able to obtain the vaccine, especially if you fall into one of the high risk categories mentioned above.  The low-risk state of Indiana has a nice summary regarding vaccination on their web site. Your own state should offer something similar, or read the CDC’s guidelines on Human Rabies Prevention.

If you do desire vaccination, how long is immunity expected to last?  Unfortunately only a few years.  Current recommendations for those at high-risk include blood testing for effective immunity every 2-3 years, followed by re-vaccination if titers are low. (Pets simply receive repeat vaccination.)

I have also investigated the question of using canine rabies vaccination on humans.  This has not been tested and likely never will be.  I expect the likelihood of allergic reaction might be increased.  However, per the doctors I consulted, they felt canine rabies vaccine has a good chance of effectiveness in humans.  If I were bitten by a bat or suspicious raccoon, skunk, or dog, and the only thing I had available was animal vaccine, I would certainly use it.  Curiously, some states, including Ohio, allow purchase of veterinary rabies vaccine by non-medical personnel, although most states limit sale to veterinarians only. The same dose is used for dogs of all sizes, with twice as much administered to horses.

So where does this leave us?  As a family physician, stockpiling human rabies vaccine is cost-prohibitive.  On the other hand, at $20/dose, stockpiling dog rabies vaccine is a consideration, both for professionals and laymen.  Vaccines do require refrigeration and commonly list a shelf-life of only a year or two, but having something on hand may be preferable to having nothing.  

While I cannot offer a one-size-fits-all answer on this topic, rabies vaccination is a valid question for serious preppers.
—

Dr. Koelker is the SurvivalBlog’s Medical Editor and hosts the popular medical prepping site ArmageddonMedicine.net.   

Letter Re: TEOTWAWKI Is Now

James Wesley:
It has been said that you can boil a frog to death by putting it in a pan of water then putting the pan over a burner. However, if you drop the frog into a pan of boiling water, it will instantly jump out. I’ve never tried this experiment, but the metaphor for The End of the World as We Know It (TEOTWAWKI) seems appropriate.

Too many of us fit the first scenario. We’re “comfortable,” even though we recognize that the water is getting hotter and hotter. By the time we realize it is way too hot, it will be too late.

Many Preppers fixate on threshold events that will usher in TEOTWAWKI overnight. Whether asteroid impacts, super-volcanoes, or electro-magnetic pulses, we find the romance of extreme events irresistible. We imagine what we will do to survive when the lights don’t light, the faucets don’t flow, or there are marauders in our front yard. And, what if it is an even more likely event such as martial law (e.g.: New Orleans in the Hurricane Katrina aftermath) where U.S. soldiers arrive to confiscate your firearms or to tell you that your home has been commandeered?

These are exciting things to ponder, but the greatest threats are on our doorsteps right now. Hyperinflation, for example, doesn’t happen overnight, it starts with creeping inflation. The government says that inflation at this time (March, 2012) is about three percent, but anyone who buys groceries, pays rent, or puts fuel in their cars knows better. Look at the cost of peanut butter (and the size of the container) today compared to the same time last year. Hyperinflation is just one TEOTWAWKI journey that we are already starting.

Preparation is a wonderful philosophy. “Be Prepared” is the Boy Scout Motto. The part we often miss, however, is what we could be doing to avoid catastrophic events in the first place. We can’t stop a comet impact, an EMP, or a super volcano, but we can influence the affairs that lead to even more likely TEOTWAWKI events.

Are you involved in community affairs? Think of your school, church, and local government as your redoubt community. Do whatever you can by participating to keep your community strong.  Something as simple as organizing a community watch program for your neighborhood might keep the bad guys away from your door right now and make more extreme threats less likely.

The same principle applies to Federal government issues. Study the issues, understand the implications, and make your best efforts to keep our republic on a course away from TEOTWAWKI. It matters little whether you are Democrat or Republican, Liberal, Conservative, or Libertarian. Common sense is the standard.

Pay attention! And notice that the “World as We Know It” today is nothing like we knew even 10 years ago. We can only keep from boiling to death by turning off the fire or jumping out. Jumping out is a tough option that might work for dedicated preppers, but is awfully drastic unless there is no alternative. Let’s work on turning off, or, at least, turning down the fire. – K.L.F.

Recipe of the Week:

Notutopia’s One Pot Beefy Mac N’ Cheese

(Serves 6)

Ingredients:

1 lb. lean ground meat
1/8th cup dried diced onions
pinch of garlic powder
1 T parsley flakes
salt and pepper
1 lb. elbow macaroni or egg noodles
1 8oz. can Bega cheddar cheese cut in small 1/4 inch cubes, or 1/2 cup
of cheddar cheese powder

Directions:

In a 4 quart pot with a tight fitting lid, fry the ground meat with onions, seasonings and parsley flakes, until meat is browned. Do not drain oil from the meat. Add 5 cups of water to the meat mixture and bring to a rapid boil. Add the pasta, stir well and boil for 5 minutes. Cover the pot and turn off the burner. Allow the pasta to continue cooking and expanding and do not open the cover. In 10 minutes, open the cover, and stir in the cheese until melted. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Useful Recipe and Cooking Links:

“Cabinetman” over at The FALFiles Forums recommended this traditional cookbook: Meta Given’s Modern Encyclopedia of Cooking published by J.G. Ferguson and Associates Chicago, 1953. Cabinetman’s description: “There’s a 77 page index to give you an idea of how comprehensive this book is. I can’t stress enough how valuable this book would become during as SHTF situation because it provides many alternatives to traditional cooking techniques as opposed to modern cookbooks which rely on microwaves and electronics and a lot of pre-packaged ingredients. In this book you start with picking the veggies from the garden, getting the feathers off a newly dispatched broiler, or carving up an elk. However, she also details more modern ingredients that may be frozen or butchered at a shop. It’s not a cookbook full only of rustic techniques but both old and newer ones. They are most certainly techniques that will help you adjust to a less-modern way of feeding a family.”

Reader Lee M. mentioned that there are some great recipes posted in the discussion forums at the Mrs. Survival web site.

Do you have a favorite recipe that you have tested extensively? Then please e-mail it to us for posting. Thanks!

Economics and Investing:

With the stroke of BHO‘s pen on a Friday evening (after most of the newsies went home for the weekend), all pretension of a free civil economy in the U.S. have been discarded. Read this: National Defense Resources Preparedness. In essence, if they want it, they can now take it. Under this executive order, all segments of the economy have been been put on a war footing, and unprecedented Federal power has been established, without the consent of congress. Refer to Section 201 (b), and you will see that the order applies to both emergency and non-emergency conditions. Under the terms of this fiat, anything and everything can be “allocated,” by executive decree. Reader Christopher C. wrote to mention that beyond simply taking the authority to seize food commodities, this executive order also includes: Section 502 which says they can make you work for the government without compensation, Section 302 which gives Department heads the ability to take loans without approval from congress, and Section 804 which removes our right to sue the government for the return of or compensation for what they steal from us under this executive order. [JWR Notes: There is a lot to dislike and perhaps fear in President Bolt Hold Open’s new decree. To explain: I sometimes jokingly refer to Barack Hussein Obama as “President Bolt Hold Open” because they both share the same acronym (BHO.) I think that Bolt Hold Open is a fitting moniker for our sitting President, because a rifle Bolt Hold Open lever is: A.) An Obstruction. B.) Only useful and noticed after the real work has been completed by another apparatus, and C.) A reminder that best is behind us, and that the fun won’t resume until Bolt Hold Open is slapped and disengaged. Coincidentally, the word ABHORRENT includes BHO.]

The power of compounding interest: Children born today will inherent a per capita share of the national debt exceeding $1.5 million, a new study reveals. (Thanks to B.B. for the link.)

F.G. sent this: In Sweden, cash is king no more

Michael Pollaro, writing in Forbes: Money Supply booming, seeds of the next Greater Recession

Items from The Economatrix:

Doomsday Survey:  51% of Americans Believe A Financial Collapse Is Imminent

Time To Accumulate Gold & Silver

Five Charts That Prove We’re In A Depression And That The Federal Reserve And D.C. Are Wasting Money

Odds ‘n Sods:

The Varkman sent a picture that tells a thousand words: This is why astronomers build telescopes in the mountains of Chile. (Looking at the map, you can see why I prefer the western U.S. of A. for retreat locales. The relative lack of light pollution in The American Redoubt region shows just how lightly populated it is here. OBTW, here’s a direct link to the large .PNG image.

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Avalanche Lily alerted me to this: The NSA Is Building the Country’s Biggest Spy Center (Watch What You Say)

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For those that were captivated by my recent mention of the Battle of Athens (Tennessee, 1946), SurvivalBlog Timothy R. mentioned this site, for further reading.

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Reader Mike Q. wrote to remind me that the movie Atlas Shrugged: Part One is now available on Netflix.

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Veteran contributor R.B.S. sent this, just for fun: A whale of a story that became a legend. (Yes, there is such a thing as using too much dynamite.)

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Sweet liberty,
Sweet liberty is in our hands
It’s part of the plan,
Or is it a state of mind?

Horses and men,
Horses and men are on the field,
They didn’t yield.
Many have fallen here;

Never forget
Never forget what they have done,
The time will come,
When it will change again.
Never forget!” – Chris De Burgh, from the lyrics to his song “Liberty”, from the album The Getaway

Notes from JWR:

Enola Gay, the editor of the immensely popular preparedness, self-sufficient-living, Christian patriot blog, Paratus Familia will be interviewed on Radio Free Redoubt on Sunday, March 18th at 7 p.m. Pacific time. The show will also be made available for later playback.

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Today we present two more entries for Round 39 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 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), and E.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo.

Second Prize: A.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol. It is a $439 value courtesy of Next Level Training. B.) A FloJak F-50 hand well pump (a $349 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, and 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.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value, C.) A Commence Fire! emergency stove with three tinder refill kits. (A $160 value.), and D.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security.

Round 39 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

The Psychological Side of a Defensive Shooting Incident, by B.D.M.

I have been reading survivalblog now for about 2 years and enjoy the information provided in the articles. I have often wondered what if anything I could contribute to the site.  After reading “After the Shooting” by Tupreco, which emphasized the legal aspect of a shooting, I thought this article would be a good follow up concentrating on the psychological side of it.
My background: I have been a police officer for 8 years and was involved in a shooing in February of 2008.  You can watch the dash cam view of it here on YouTube.

Basically, I stopped a car for a defective tail lamp. The driver stopped initially but then pulled away and turned down a dead end road. Just before the car came to a stop the suspect exited and started shooting.  Thank god he slipped at first.  One round hit the bottom of my radiator three feet directly underneath where I was seated.  There was an initial exchange when I exited my squad and then a second when he circled around the house he ran behind and a third when he came down the driveway closer toward me right by the front of the house.  He was hit twice (unknown to me at the time) and was later captured about a half a block away. He was hit once in the shoulder and once in the other arm breaking his humerus bone in two places. Even though he was hit he still managed to climb over a chain link fence.  At the trail a jury of “peers” from my community decided that despite the clear video evidence and they fact he shot at me at least 6 times, they convicted him only of the lesser charge of “recklessly endangering” safety. His defense was that he had a bad day and snapped.  He didn’t deny anything really. He got sentenced to seven years for basically trying to kill me and five years for being a felon in possession of a stolen gun.  I have researched shootings on my own and been to several tactical classes and read numerous books and articles.  Dave Grossman has some great works on the psychological side of shootings/killing. 

Commonly believed concepts of shootings: You will have audio exclusion, tunnel vision, not be able to use small motor skills, a perception of slow motion, you will feel regretful, have memory lapses, revert to your training, will not use your sights, it will probably be 3-5 shots and a few seconds in duration.

Reference audio exclusion, tunnel vision and slow motion. I can’t say that I really experienced any of them.  My ears rang for days and my Glock was very loud on that zero degree night.   While I was certainly focused on the target I didn’t feel like I was looking through a tunnel.  While I felt in the “zone” time didn’t seem any slower or faster. Just be aware you may or may not experience these effects.  Each person is different and there is no way to predict your experience.

Memory lapses. A few hours after the shooting I had a verbal interview with a detective and did a scene walk through.  While initially I felt completely justified I later doubted myself. Did I really see him point a gun at me or just a muzzle flash? It was so dark out. There were casings in between my squad and the car I moved to for cover.  I didn’t remember shooting on the move but there was the evidence.  Was my backstop clear? Some rounds hit the house. I prayed that no one inside was hurt. How many rounds did I shoot? I don’t remember but I knew I had 6 left.  When traumatic event like a shooting occurs your brain is flooded with chemicals. Some state it takes up to 72 hours for them to clear out. Until they do your brain will not be functioning normal. Your interview if possible should be put off until that time frame is over.  An intense cardio workout will help clear those chemicals out of your system quicker. You will not be able to clearly recall everything. This is normal. 

Small motor skills: First off, I will say that I believe in using gross motor movements and keeping manipulations as simple as possible. I did use my slide release which most consider to be small motor skill during my shooting. I think this proves that they can be done with enough training. I now changed my training to the overhand slide grasp.
The shooting will be few rounds and quick: While most shootings will be, mine was a good example where it was not.  I don’t believe that if you get in a shooting you will ever wish you had a smaller gun with fewer rounds.   I do believe that it is likely you may wish you had a larger gun with more rounds.

You will revert to your training: ABSOLUTLEY.  The first probably thirty seconds of my shooting I was on complete autopilot.  I moved out of my squad, which was where he expected me, and took a better position behind another parked vehicle. I preformed a tactical reload once I moved to the car.  My breathing was controlled. I was using radio codes and trying to update other units.  I did all of this without ever consciously thinking about it. Train, train, train and induce stress.

You will not use your sights: I don’t recall seeing them at all for most of the event. Toward the end when he moved close in to me I remember a voice saying, “if you don’t calm down and aim, this will end bad for you”.  Toward the end I remember lining up the sights and that is probably when I hit him.  BTW our department didn’t allow us to have night sights at the time. 

You will feel regretful: The media likes to portray the shaken, disheveled, citizen who is distraught over shooting/killing the  usually well intentioned suspect who made a bad choice. If you do feel that way that’s fine. But you may very likely not. This person just tried to seriously harm or kill you or another person. You survived they didn’t. That is an intense experience. You should feel good about it.  You won. You triumphed during an extremely intense situation.  Many of us train and never know how we will actually perform when something real happens.  Be proud of yourself, you performed and did what you had to. You may be angry. I was. That was my strongest emotion at the time.  I was furious.  Here I am trying to do my job and was probably just going to give him a warning and he tries to kill me.  Any blame should be on the suspect. It was his choice to commit a crime, arm himself illegally and not listen to orders. If one goes to the zoo and jump into the lions den he shouldn’t mad at the lion when he gets bit.  That’s his fault.

Emotional considerations after the shooting.  Talk it out.  Certainly not to the media but to people you trust and may have  legal privilege with. Clergy, attorney. spouse. You will need to talk about it to let it process.  Your sleep with be effected. Those chemicals are pumping through you and you are amp-ed up.    Don’t consume alcohol. Use calming techniques and stay out of stressful environments. Use routine to  help feel at ease.   A common experience I had and is often reported is what I’ll call the movie reel effect.  The event kept replaying in my head.  It felt like I was watching a movie replay over and over. This is normal and will diminish with time. Anxiety will occur. Our brain is an amazing organ. When you touch a hot stove it stores a message not to do that again. It is a protection mechanism when a negative result occurs.   After my shooting my first probably 20 traffic stops were filled with anxiety.  You will likely experience a similar response when you attempt to do something similar to what triggered your incident. Examples of this could be walking from the store to your car, waking up to a crash in the night, going to the ATM. Try to calm yourself and realize this is normal.

Monday morning quarterbacks. This can come from several sources.  Friends, media, pundits, co-workers. Few people can say they know what fighting for your life feels like. Few will take the time to read all of the details. But many will say you should have done A then B. They will say that they could have done it so much better hitting moving head shots at 50 yards with a pistol etc. This can be hard to swallow. Here you did what you could and everyone seems to think they could do better. I got ridiculed for shooting 40 rounds. I was told I should be re-trained and was just spraying and praying. Neither one is the case and most of them probably would have soiled themselves. After trying to explain the facts of case to people  including: the distance involved, actively taking rounds, low visibility at night,  the cover the suspect used etc. I learned it didn’t matter. My advise it to not read any forums, papers or listen to radio or anything after your shooting. It will only anger you.  If you’d like review some of your tactics seek other professionals who have been in shootings.

If you think you need professional counseling, then get it. It is nothing to be ashamed about. If you broke your ankle you would seek a doctor.  This is no different.

I hope this will give others a little insight toward a subject that is not often discussed and prepare you mentally for what to expect.

My Journey Through Prepping and the Christian Worldview, by Southwest Michigan Fred

I remember 25 years ago saying something to a supervisor at work about maybe developing the skills to grow a garden because, “you just never know what might happen.”  That seemingly innocent, off-hand comment brought upon me his very public pronouncement of being of a “doom-and-gloomer” and the ridicule of every one of my fellow workers with whom he gleefully shared our conversation.  While his immature and idiotic rebuke was stinging I can’t say that it changed my thinking or altered my behavior, but I just never began the hard work of preparing.  Even though I knew in my heart that I should, I didn’t make time to pursue it.  Being the sole financial provider for a family of six and serving in my local church, Cub Scouts and Little League can keep guy pretty busy, I suppose.  But things are changing.   After a couple decades of ignoring the gut instinct that I should be prepared to provide for my family in the case of some kind of economic, societal, or natural calamity, I read JWR’s book How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It and became a regular visitor to SurvivalBlog and now the journey has begun.  While I don’t have the financial resources to fill a barn like the guys on the reality television shows, I’ve committed $10 per week to my efforts – less than many folks waste on fast food and soda each week.  I’m gradually filling galvanized steel trash cans with vacuum-packed bags of rice, beans and oatmeal and my wife keeps our pantry stocked with hundreds of jars of home-canned vegetables from our garden.  My storage shelves are slowly gathering an assortment of cooking oil, peanut butter, Coleman fuel and small propane cylinders.  The two-way radios we take camping are now stored in insulated steel ammo cans as is my old marine radio and a dynamo powered weather radio.  The pitcher pump for my shallow well is on a shelf in the garage, the garden is in and I have an acre’s-worth of heirloom seeds in the deep freeze.  My firewood is cut, split and stacked.  I have oil lamps and a kerosene heater along with spare wicks for all.  Emergency candles and a brick of strike-anywhere matches are next on the list as is building a Faraday Cage for my generator and chain saws.  I picked up a big stoneware crock at an Amish hard goods store and I’m having a blast canning my home-made sauerkraut.  I’ve mastered raising chickens and pigs and will be adding a calf later this spring.  My next goal, in addition to continuing to fill the shelves, is to learn the art of cold smoking meats in case the freezers go down.  I’ve come a long way and have even farther to go and I’m loving every step of the journey.  This is truly an adventure. 

But there’s a nagging issue that keeps tugging at my heart.  There’s a Question that goes beyond the mind straight to my soul.  You see, I’m a Christ-follower.  And I believe that being a Christian is far more than just religion and a free ticket to the non-smoking section in eternity.  True Christianity is an all-encompassing worldview.   True Faith captures our hearts and causes us to see the world in a way that shapes the way we live in it.  And that should impact the way we approach TEOTWAWKI, should it not?  JWR does well reminding us often to set aside extra provisions for those who are unprepared.  And the December 2011 SurvivalBlog writing contest winner,  Barter, Post-TEOTWAWKI: The Micro Store  – is a great encouragement to all of us to think about how we can help others help themselves while improving our odds of thriving at the same time.  There’s more going on in this movement than just working for self-preservation and that’s something my worldview embraces. 

I dream often of a retreat location somewhere in the American Redoubt.  Wyoming perhaps, or Montana, or maybe even the Ozarks.  Or more exciting yet – my late-maternal grandfather was a freelance photographer with a serious case of wanderlust and spent a lot of time in the Coeur d’Alene country of northern Idaho.  He fell in love with it and always wanted to return there when he was older and though he never was able, he left us with his photographs and the memories of his adventures.  Maybe I should go there in his stead – talk about adding thrill to the adventure!  But then there’s that Question that haunts me.  That unresolved issue that goes beyond whether or not I have the time and the financial resources to pursue the dream of a retreat.  A Question with its roots implanted in the very foundation of my faith.  That voice that keeps whispering to me, “Is that the right thing for you to do?”  Is fleeing to the mountains to protect myself and my family from “the golden horde” in keeping with my faith’s call to “see the world in a way that shapes the way I live in it?”  I can’t answer that question for anyone else – and I don’t believe the answer is the same for every one of us – but I must answer it for myself.  JWR’s done an excellent job of laying out a Biblical rationale for food storage, self-defense and charity in the SurvivalBlog  Prayer Page.  As with all things Biblical, there’s a wealth of wisdom there whether you believe in God or not.  I won’t repeat it all here but if you haven’t read the page, you should as you’ll be stronger and wiser for the time spent there.  And isolating those Biblical missives from the full context of the whole of Scripture, life and eternity seems to make them scream, “Run for the hills!”  In fact, those words are actually in there.  When people start to ruminate about the end of the world (the real end, not just “the world as we know it”) I like to say, “I’m not worried about it.  I’ve read the end of the book.  I know how it ends.”  I have read the end of the book and I do know how it ends so I’m really not worried about it but the fact is some of the stuff at the end of the book isn’t very user-friendly and running for the hills isn’t a bad idea.  But that’s not really what we’re talking about prepping for here.  The end of one civilization (ours!) in reality would be just another footnote in history, not an eternity-ushering cosmic cataclysm, even though it might seem like it at the time.  But escaping even that “footnote in history” doesn’t seem like such a bad idea and providing for and protecting one’s family is unquestionably a Biblical mandate and I take those very seriously.  Oh, that it were all so simple!

The Question comes to me as the result of the reading I’ve done on Christian worldview.  One of today’s most prolific writers on the subject is Chuck Colson and in the prologue of his excellent treatise on basic Christian beliefs – The Faith – he tells the story of the early Christians of the Roman Empire and how their response to the 1st century smallpox epidemic was used by God to fuel the explosive growth of God’s plan to restore humanity to himself.  Because of the squalid living conditions in the cities of that day – much like will become of our cities when the water and sewers stop flowing – they were ripe for the spread of communicable disease and plagues of various kinds that would often decimate the population.  At the onset of these unnatural disasters, the wealthy – the physicians and elites – would flee to their country estates and leave the hordes to die and rot.  But then along came this new group of people called Christians who believed that every human being is a precious life created in the image of God.  They would go around the city, picking up the moaning bodies covered with putrid, oozing pox and take them to a place where they could, “give the victims water, keep them as clean as possible, and encourage them with kindness and prayer.”  Needless to say, many of those early Christ-followers performed this ministry at the expense of their very lives.  But somehow, by giving up their own lives, they added to their number, so much so that they, “progressed from being a small sect to the dominant cultural group.”  People saw the sacrifice and said, “I don’t know what it is that they’ve got, but whatever it is, I want it.  I want to be one of them.”  And the world will never be the same.  By “surviving in place,” – or in many cases not – these folks were used by God to change the world. 

And so the Question pursues me.  I’m blessed with a four-acre place in the country surrounded by hundreds of acres of farm fields and woods but we’re within a day’s walking distance of a city of 100,000 and an hour’s walk from a major interstate.  It’s impossible for me to lay up enough to help everyone who might come to my door even if I were to give it all away.  And how long could we really hold out against a horde of desperate hungry people or against the authorities who might come looking for something to “fairly redistribute?”  Probably not very long.  By trying to survive in place, could I lose my life and endanger the lives of my wife and my four children?  It would seem so.  But might that be a chance that at least some of us who call ourselves Christ-followers could be called to take?  I suspect it might. 

And so I continue to ponder the Question.  In the mean time, am I laying up a supply of food?  Absolutely.  Have I established a sustainable source of water?  Yep.  Do I have guns?  Better believe it.  Do I have ammunition?  Yes (even though somehow the word “enough” just never seems to apply here.)  Am I prepared to defend my family against an invasion by those who would steal us blind and leave us without the ability to survive?  Lock and load!    I will do what I need to do to protect my family and at the same time look for ways to live out my faith and honor my Lord by serving “the least of these.”  And whatever else happens . . . happens.  As pastor and author Charles Stanley says, “Obey God.  Trust all the consequences to Him.”