A Farmer’s Perspective on Combating Crime in South Africa, by Joe Ordinary Voortrekker

Although we in South Africa do not live in a TEOTWAWKI situation, we routinely have to deal with constant attempts to appropriate life, possessions, and freedom that could be good training for a TEOTWAWKI situation. The following are some real life insights as to what and how we handle these regular attempts at property liberation on our homesteads and surrounds.

We are fortunate to live well outside of South Africa’s largest city, our community is isolated and not visible from any main road. To a point where people that live in nearby areas do not know where our entry road is, and have to be given detailed instructions on how to get to our community. (I’ve even had a 20 year resident of an adjacent area tell me outright that I’m lying and no such road/area exists. What a great place to be!) There are a total of 24 families in our area, not all participate in the community [security effort] and only one other family has a preparedness mindset. Almost every member of the community is very private and the idea of personal privacy and property rights is taken very seriously. Of the 24 families there are nine that take an active role in protecting the community totaling 15 men. Our community is situated in a blind valley with a single very defendable entrance, there are however two additional tracks that can be used for either a north or south escape route if you know where to find them.

Most of our threats consist of one or more of the following.(In no particular order) Stock theft, cable theft, fencing or dropper [(cattle chute)] theft, house breaking, armed home invasions, rape and other crimes. There is also a marked increase in produce theft (directly from fields) in recent months.

What also needs to be understood is that in the rural areas there are specific crime ‘seasons’. Outright you can peg the December/January and Easter periods as a very high probability of stock theft, then the last two weeks in any month with increases in housebreaking and implement/equipment theft. Our analysis of this suggests that people are looking for meat in December/January and April for family [summer and fall] feasts. And at month end they are looking for a bit of cash to tide them over till payday or they have just plain run out of cash and need more.

The number one livestock theft item is sheep, they are simple to lift onto ones shoulders and carry off without a sound (sheep make no noise at night if manhandled). Cattle are the next most frequent target. of theft. How this is achieved is the cattle are often liberated early evening (20h00 – 21h00) and a team of thieves will work as follows. A Cutter will walk ahead and cut any fencing about 100m in front of the cattle, then three drivers will drive the cattle along the chosen route, typically the hocks are slashed so that the cattle cannot run, they are then prodded with sharp sticks or bicycle spokes in the correct direction. The animals are generally butchered in the veld and only choice portions are taken, or they are herded directly to a township/village for slaughter. They are often herded over 20 or 30 km in one night. Making track and trace is sometimes extremely difficult. The sad thing about this is that if you do recover your animals before they slaughter them, the animals need to be put down anyway. We have even had a situation where large ‘steaks’ were cut out of living cattle and they were left to be found in the morning. Goats and Pigs are very low down on the list as they will vocally announce their displeasure at being manhandled. This PDF describes another very well known way of transporting stolen stock long distances.

With regards to implements and equipment theft. Very high on the list are hand tools, power tools, generators, water pumps, borehole pumps, and electric gate motors–in fact anything that can be pawned or sold off quickly. A new phenomenon that has recently reared its head is that people are stealing metal gates and droppers, we have yet to catch one in the act, however we believe it’s for the scrap metal market. New fencing is also quick to go, especially weld mesh and Bonnox-type fencing. As it’s easy to roll up and cart away, and has a quick resale value on the open market if priced right.
To counteract the effects of crime in our area we have established for a number of years now a very effective farm watch system that includes the following. (I will cover each point separately to provide insight into the logic and tactics):

Highly visible motorised patrols: The main point of these is to provide a “show of force” and it is mainly used as a deterrent during low crime times. The use of vehicle mounted Search/spot lights is heavily employed. One of the largest drawbacks is that ‘they’ can see you coming and a) either scamper off to find a quieter area to harass, or b) just drop into the grass that is typically 1 metre (3 feet) high, and then effectively become invisible. Another drawback is that once the patrol ends this can be easily be seen, due to a lack of lights sweeping the roads and properties.

Foot patrols: These are undertaken specifically during times of harassment, or in peak crime times. Foot patrols generally consist of two separate patrols of minimum three individuals each, contact via radio is available but only used as and when required. A preset route is followed, there are a total of nine routes, typically only four are covered by both patrols in an evening. Each route has specific LP/OPs developed as well as caches of food/water and medical [supplies] on the longer routes. Some routes are never more than about 300 – 500 meters from a lot of the homesteads and others can take one over two kilometers from the nearest homestead.

LP/OPs: Generally performed on off nights where ‘nothing is going on’. Members will walk out onto their own properties and take up specific LP/OP to generally [listen and] observe. This is often tied in with the final checks on animals, stores and stables. The interesting thing is you are able to track the movement of an individual(s) from well over two kilometres away, just by listening to the night sounds of animals. Dogs, Plovers, Geese, Guinea Fowl, and peacocks, frogs/toads, and others can all give an indication as to what is happening in the area. We have got to a point where just by listening to the sounds of the local critters, both wild and domestic, we are able to make a good judgment call if a impromptu patrol needs to rustled up. Most evenings we can track the return of staff members and labourers as they walk back from the local shebeens.

Contact Routes: These are predefined routes that each farmer will take when a contact is established. This has worked very well for us on a number of occasions leading to the arrest of six individuals and the peppering of at least three that have escaped, with bird shot liberally inserted into their Gluteus maximus. The adage in our area is not to have someone die on your property, rather wound [them] and let them spread the word. It the best advertising you can get for a peaceful nights rest. They also cannot go to a hospital as this raises questions. We have heard via the grapevine of one individual that had a friend digging around in his butt with a piece of bent piece of wire to try extricate shot. Somehow I don’t think he is coming back. [JWR Adds: Things are different here in the oh-so litigious US, where wounding a miscreant is an invitation to a huge civil lawsuit. I advise American, Canadian and British SurvivalBlog readers: Don’t pull the trigger unless your life is immediately threatened.]

Basically there are two types of contact:

1) Farm based. When there is an attack on a particular farm then the alarm is raised via, land line, cell phone, radio or audible sirens. Information is generally given to wives for relay, as husbands prepare, as to what portion of the farmstead is threatened. A ring is established around the farm with selected individuals providing direct support at the farmstead, once the farmstead is cleared then the ring closes along predefined routes. BTW, it is vitally important that the outer ring is maintained, as often a lot more is seen from the ring than from the farmstead. In addition all lights on all farms get turned off, specifically to assist the guys with Night Vision, but we have found that those that don’t, can also see better without distracting ambient light sources. Lastly, the explicit rule is that if it’s your farm / livestock under attack then you are not to leave the house! There is no need for a hostage situation or to allow for a penetration of your family’s security, or God forbid a friendly fire incident. That is why you have neighbours.

2) Infrastructure based: Typically this is cable theft, we are very proud of the fact that we are one of the few rural areas in South Africa that has had no interruption of our telecoms service in well over 18 months. We have taken the initiative to install alarms on our lines that activate as soon as there is a voltage drop. ([Caused by a] cut line) This triggers a response where farmers scramble to cover specific points. The amazing thing is how fast these cable thieves can move. They cut and drag 150-200 metres of 50-pair cable well over 500 meters in a matter minutes. It took us a while to get our attack honed, but now we have a 100% strike rate and no more cable theft.

Most patrol members are armed with Shotguns and occasionally with a sidearm, a 2-way radio, torch, Night Vision if they have the gear, and a small first aid kit is carried by one member. A handful of heavy duty cable ties [for use as handcuffs are also carried. Each member is also at liberty to equip themselves with what they feel is necessary. What we find is that new members tend to go all out on kit, and it only takes about two weeks for them to start reducing the amount of glory kit they carry to the minimum. (We actually have a pool bet going on the number of patrols walked with full kit, we always do the two longest for them on the trot. Hey, we need some fun.)

Some additional information, many thieves will plan their attacks long in advance with scouting and intel well sourced, either via the local labourer population or via direct observation. One of the most common and disturbing warning signs that you will get, is that dogs are being poisoned in the area. Depending on the poison used, it will generally be a fast acting (in a matter of minutes) the most common poison is Aldicarb or Temik a restricted use agricultural pesticide. Luckily we have not had any incidents in our area, but all around us there are reports of multiple dogs going down in a single night.
Finally, one of the benefits of living in [the old] South Africa (pre-1994) was conscription, with two years of compulsory military service, for most straight out of school. This has put most of the ‘older’ (I say that with care as I’m yet to hit 45) members of our group with a military service background and we have been through some of the Border War. All of this helps to set the tone of patrols and provides the training and discipline for younger members.

“Show Your Colors”–Recognition Flags for Post-Collapse Travel in Groups?

Jim,
Some friends and I were out on a hike several weeks ago with our bug out bags, and we were talking about how we could easily identify non-threatening travelers or [perhaps even] fellow SurvivalBlog blog readers. Maybe a flag of some type? Being able to identify [“friendlies”] would be especially helpful in a TEOTWAWKI situation. I’m just wondering if anyone else had suggested anything along those lines. Thanks, – Steven

JWR Replies: Your chances of meeting a fellow SurvivalBlog readers are slim. (There are only about 282,000 SurvivalBlog readers in the US, scattered in a population of more than 305 million.) However, recognitions flags, banners, standards, or guidons carried by military units have a history that stretches back to ancient times, for good reason. In the modern military context, that emphasizes camouflage, they are an anachronism. (Guidons are now only used for formal, in-garrison occasions). Nowadays, in the field, the only thing that is analogous are ground marking panels–like the multi-color VS-17 Signal Panel Markers–designed to prevent friendly fire accidents. But in a post-collapse group defense (or community defense) context, distinctive flags carried like Pilgramager’s banners might be a good idea for particular circumstances:

1.) If it is for a group that is large enough to easily defend itself (i.e., so they need not travel stealthily), and

2.) Banner SOPs are established well in advance, and

3.) The group is traveling through territory where they are likely to encounter both friendlies and bad guys, and

4.) If the flag is something quite distinctive, and hence not easily copied by malo hombres. (Perhaps using a couple of triangles of very unusual and scarce fabric colors sewn together into a square. “All hail the Mauve and Chartreuse banner of the Warlord!”)

I surmise that a Japanese sashimono-style battlefield banner attached to a backpack frame (hence, that would not require someone’s hands to be occupied) would be the the most appropriate.

Perhaps some other readers would care to chime in with suggestions.

Letter Re: Notes on Using FoodSavers and Other Home Vacuum Packer/Sealers

Hello,
Just a quick note about vacuum sealing for the folks who purchased a FoodSaver recently [during the current special $59 sale price offer.] I live in Alaska and grew up using the FoodSaver brand sealer and there are two key things to remember when using them. The first is follow the instructions and allow ample time for the sealing strip to cool down between bags and second never allow moisture into the unit as this will ruin it quickly, we have ruined many this way and when they quit working, had to throw them away and get another.

When sealing in bulk we use multiple sealing stations to allow machines time to cool both for the pump and the sealing strip. We seal mostly salmon, moose and small items we want for long term storage and hunting trips, say matches and backup batteries to keep dry. Most good hunting in Alaska will involve water from rain or a boat in a river and things get wet. I never seal everything for a hunt but having a set of cloths that you know will be dry is very comforting. We have found that a quick glaze in a freezer works best for keeping moisture out of the machine and we use an old upright freezer with racks that we place plastic trash bags on and layer the fish with bags in-between to keep them from freezing together. You can stack the fish several layers deep on each rack this way. We freeze the fish several hours or overnight some times because we can get very tired catching and cleaning fish late into the night and a sharp filet knife is dangerous and can ruin a season.

We also like to use a cutting board to lay whatever is being sealed on to keep the bag level with the machine. I am sure that there are many other good tips for these machines and I would like to here them. Note I would recommend that if the funds were available or you were in a two family situation to go ahead and get a more expensive semi commercial unit or full on commercial unit, but these will cost you around five hundred for a semi commercial and thousands for the industrial model. Cheers, – AK Man

Letter Re: Documentary Film Producer Seeking Interview Subjects

Hello to the Readers of SurvivalBlog:
I do hope you’ll consider the following request. I produce documentaries for a company called Engel Entertainment We have been around for more than a dozen years, and have a solid track record producing award-winning and highly rated programming for all of the major broadcasters (the History Channel, the Discovery Channel, PBS, National Geographic, etc.). My most recent film was a two-hour special for History Channel called “Black Blizzard”, about the American Dust Bowl (this is actually re-broadcasting this Friday night, January 9th, at 10 p.m. if you’d like to see a sample of our work.

I am now in the process of developing a new film about survivalism. While working on the Dust Bowl film, I met men and women who had lived through what I came to think of as a kind of mini American Apocalypse – a decade of no rain, no crops, dust storms that killed livestock and children, and created grinding poverty — truly “the worst hard time” as one book called it. These folks endured and are some of the most stoic, pragmatic, wonderful people I’ve ever met. During this time, I also read [Cormac McCarthy’s novel] “The Road,” and I’m sure that, too, inspired my thinking. What I would like to do in this new film is present a solid history of the survivalist movement as background, and then take a look at the current state of preparedness of the American public in the event of a catastrophic event. I am looking for leaders and participants in the movement who would be willing to share with us their philosophies and strategies for the future.

Jim Rawles kindly agreed to allow me reach out to you. Ideally, I am looking for a spectrum of individuals, families and groups who would consider the possibility of welcoming a film crew into their lives for a short period of time (which could be anywhere from an afternoon to a few days, depending upon what we agreed). Jim has helped me understand the need for security, and we are willing in every case to work with you to respect OPSEC, including using pseudonyms and not revealing the locations of your homes or retreats. We are willing to be driven in and out of your location blindfolded (and would obviously cover the costs that would be associated with meeting and transporting a crew in this way to protect your security.)

With the American economy in a free-fall, the timeliness of this subject couldn’t be more relevant, and I would like to stress to you that we plan to approach the subject with respect and an effort to provide useful information to our audience. If you are interested in this project, please contact me at: survival@email.engelentertainment.com
Yours sincerely, – Amy Bucher, Senior Producer, Engel Entertainment

Odds ‘n Sods:

Does this sound familiar? Walking Away from the American Dream. FWIW, In August of 2005, I accurately predicted mortgage holders “walking away” from houses and turning in the house keys to their bankers. This has more recently been called “jingle mail”. Also on the economic front, comes these items from The Economatrix: Stock Losses Leave Pensions $400 Billion Short — Martial Law, Financial Bailout, and War — Biggest Rise in US Unemployment in 59 Years — Bank of England Cuts Rates to 300-Year Low — Pink Slips Pile Higher, Recession Worsens — The Fate of Paper Money —

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Matt B. sent a YouTube video link about a gent that proves that practice can indeed make perfect, in his case with a slingshot.

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Tom G. wrote to mention: Northern Tool & Equipment currently has most of their photovoltaic (PV) power panels and packaged PV systems on sale. In the “Categories’ list at their site, just click on “Alternative Energy” and then “Solar Solutions”. BTW, they also have a lot of their other inventory now on sale, including air compressors, with price reductions of up to 60%. Since Northern Tool is one of the SurvivalBlog Affiliate Advertisers, we’ll get a little piece of the action if you place an order, following our link.

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Several readers sent this WorldNetDaily article link on the proposed renewal of the Federal “assault weapons” [sic] and “high capacity” [sic] magazine ban: Congress’ plan would let AG ‘ban guns at will’

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Determine what is best for the government, and know that is what the powers are working to make happen. [Monetary] inflation is what is ‘best’ for a government with enormous debt’. – Ayn Rand

Note from JWR:

We blew past 600 gigabytes in web traffic in December. Since we are only contracted for 450 gigabytes, we just had to negotiate a special flat rate with our ISP for one terabyte of monthly traffic on our web site. There is now so much SurvivalBlog traffic–around 124,000 unique visits per week–that late in 2008 our ISP had to set up a dedicated server for us. Thanks, everyone, for making SurvivalBlog such a huge success!

Letter Re: Observations on Preparedness from a Gulf Coast Hurricane Veteran

Mr. Rawles,
I just wanted to let you know how much I have enjoyed your site. I had no idea that there were whole survivalist communities out there until I stumbled on a link by accident. In fact, I didn’t really know that I fit into that category myself. My wife and I live on the Gulf Coast and we discovered the hard way during Hurricane Rita that a bag of trail mix and a bottle of water, was not preparing to evacuate. Eighteen hours in traffic in a hundred and fifty mile traffic jam taught us to find the roads that are not on a US map. After that we planned, made maps of blacktop roads for evacuation, and stocked a retreat a couple of hundred miles from the coast and cities.

Two years later here came Hurricane Ike. Since we had our gear pretty much laid out it only took us about an hour to load and we were gone. It was a vacation compared to the first time. After the storm blew threw we used some of the gas we had stashed and wanted to look at the house and see if there was anything left to come back to. The trip was eye opening. There were people sitting in gas lines that stretched for more than a mile for five gallons of fuel. Some people where sitting at stations that didn’t even have gas because they just couldn’t go any farther. There was no food or water to be found. I thought to myself what if the trucks didn’t come back or the electricity didn’t come back on for an extended time frame.

People can speculate if there is going to be nuclear war, Peak Oil or the economy is going to complete collapse. People have been saying “The End is Near” for a few thousand years, but this was real, we saw it, and we were in it. We made our trip. The house was damaged but still there. We checked to make sure everything was secure and left back for our retreat. We stayed for about two weeks in semi-comfortable conditions. We are not where we want to be as far as being stocked up for an extended time frame but we are getting there. By the time next storm season comes we should have supplies for about two months and we are installing solar power to augment our generator and propane systems. That is a pretty short time for some of your readers but considering the rest of the people I have seen, this is living like a king. After that it’s a squirrel on a stick. – Randall

Letter Re: Field Test with a MURS Band Dakota Alert Intrusion Detection System

James;
I just recently purchased a MURS band Dakota Alert and Radio setup from [MURS Radio] that advertises on your site. Needless to say I got a screaming deal! I live in the Pacific Northwest, literally in the middle of dense woods. My radios and sensors arrived during one of the best snowfalls we have had in a while. All of the trees were loaded [with snow]. The temperature was in the very low 20s. Our terrain is mountainous.

Here are my results (which may be helpful to your readers who may be thinking about purchasing them):

[Dakota Alert MAT] Sensors: Solid transmission to Base station (located in a metal building) at 3/4 mile. Longer range not tested (It was cold, and I did not require longer range.)
Hand held transceivers [handi-talkies (HTs), [also made by Dakota Alert] to and from base station, solid to 1/2 mile, sketchy at 3/4 mile.
Sensors to HT solid transmission to 1/2 mile sketchy at 3/4 mile.
HT to HT solid at 1/2 mile sketchy at 3/4 mile.

Problems:
The sensor does not have enough transmission time to finish the third [repetition of the] “Alert Zone 2” message due to [an error in] the speed of the person recording the message. I contacted the manufacturer about it, and they said that all their current units are all this way. No one wants to be #2. (All other alert messages are fine) This is not a problem, but one does have to chuckle.
A cold vehicle (just started) dose not always activate the sensors. This is not a tactical problem but is an annoyance.

Suggestions:
BNC connectors and pull up antennas are leaky. In addition to the manufactures suggestion to add a packet of desiccant inside the sensors, I highly suggest wrapping the BNC connection and each segment joint of the antenna with COAX-SEAL.(A hand moldable plastic.) This will insure total water proofing of the unit. I plan on disguising my [chromed, collapsible] antennas by covering them with gray heat shrink [tubing] and a little magic marker action, then sealing the BNC with coax seal.

Since I live off the grid It makes no sense to run the base station (which is 12 Volt DC) off my inverter. I wired it up to my 12V distribution network that I use for all my comm devices Ham, CB, etc. Just to play it safe I contacted the manufacturer about the maximum voltage the unit could handle as I charge my batteries at 14.4V. They recommended some sort of voltage regulation device. You could “fab“one up or as they suggested, use a [voltage] regulating cigarette lighter plug. They said the unit would function at the higher voltage but it would be hard on it, and reduce it’s life expectancy.

The only drawback is that there are only four alert messages, limiting the number of sensors you can use at one time. If you need more than four sensors you will need a second receiver. I plan on calling the manufacturer and suggesting a “record your own message” modification. I am totally pleased with these units. Thanks for listing them. – John

JWR Replies: Thanks for the review. Here at the Rawles Ranch, we also use MURS band Dakota Alert transmitters in conjunction with some gently-used Kenwood transceivers. We bought all of these components from MURS Radio. Programming the transmitters to match our MURS frequency was quick and easy. We have been very pleased with their sensitivity and reliability. These are great products that provide a low-cost solution for detecting anyone entering our property.

Letter Re: Precipitation and Growing Season as Retreat Locale Criteria

Sir,
Regarding your Retreat Areas recommendations: I grew up on a small multi-crop and livestock farm in north western Iowa, with 24 inches of precipitation and 180 frost free days.
I have been living in California Eastern Sierra since 1982 , but soon will be leaving.

I respectfully submit that your assessment of the agricultural capability of many of the low precipitation/low humidity areas of the western US is vastly overestimated. Western states such as Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico are not farmable by amateurs using conventional means available during any TEOTWAWKI scenario. Obtaining water rights and controlling large scale irrigation is not some thing you can learn after a crash. Northeastern Oregon, Southeastern Washington, and the Snake River plain of Idaho are exceptions.

Your frost free growing season data [at state level over-generalizes] for many states. For example, eastern Oklahoma has 200 – 220 [frost-free] days.

For the vast majority of readers, Interstate 90 should be their northern limit if they wish to grow any more than a small garden and areas south of Interstate 80 would be preferred.
If you plan to grow enough row crops to feed yourself, or if you want to trade with the local farmers, you will need an absolute minimum of 18 inches [of] precipitation (preferably during mid spring and summer) and 140 frost free days.

JWR Replies: I have always recommended that readers do detailed study of micro-climates before relocation. Start with the Gale Publishing Company book “The Climates of the States” (in the reference section of many libraries), and then do detailed climate and soil studies using data from the NWS, NRCS, and various online resources.

My general guidance is to avoid areas that require irrigation, with the exception of the very few locales that have an end-to-end gravity fed irrigation infrastructure in place. As I’ve mentioned many times, if and when the power grids go down, many parts of the western US will quickly revert to desert. Hence, my preference is for “reliable rain” or “dryland farming” regions–that is, areas where crops can be reliably grown with regular spring and summer rains. But here is the rub: Many of those regions are heavily populated and might might not be safe in the event of a major societal disruption. So your choices will be narrowed to “”a subset of a subset”, if you are looking for an ideal retreat local. There are just a handful of places that I consider ideal lightly-populated locales for retreat self sufficiency. Two notable ones are the Palouse Hills region (straddling the border of eastern Washington and north-central Idaho), and the Montpelier, Idaho region. So, taken together with other important criteria like crime, taxes, gun laws, and so forth, it is no wonder that Idaho is at the very top of my list for retreat locales.

With the exception of the immediate riparian tracts, I do not recommend Idaho’s Snake River Plain, because the majority of the region depends on electrically-pumped irrigation water, much of it from deep wells. When the grid goes down, that area will revert to sagebrush. That, by the way is a clue to remember: When you are traveling in search of potential retreat properties, observe the native vegetation on the non-irrigated hillsides. What you see is what you’ll get, when the grid goes down. Again, in much of the West, the only exceptions will the few and far-between places with end-to-end gravity fed irrigation. And BTW, if you plan to live “in town” the same logic applies to municipal water supplies. Very few of these are gravity fed from end-to-end. (Ironically, the City and County of San Francisco is one such locale. (Its water comes from the Hetch Hetchy reservoir, high in the Sierra Nevada mountains. But given its population density, San Francisco can hardly be recommended!)

Odds ‘n Sods:

Susan Z. sent us this bad omen: [Former Bank of England official] Willem Buiter Warns of Massive Dollar Collapse

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Reader Debby S. flagged this: Terrorists could use ‘insect-based’ biological weapon

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“Shades of Minority Report…“, writes “Mike Papa”, an ex-pat living in Jordan, regarding this article: Police set to step up hacking of home PCs. Mike’s comment: “So now the United Kingdom is authorizing warrantless preemptive invasion of home computers by police if “a senior officer says he “believes” that it is “proportionate” and necessary to prevent or detect serious crime.” Scary stuff, likely coming soon to a country near you (Here in Jordan, I’m not sure it doesn’t happen already. I’ve been told by several to assume that all e-mail, phone calls, Internet usage, etc. is routinely monitored.)”

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How did I miss finding this great blog for so long? Check out Tamara’s View From the Porch blog. I just added it to my Blogroll.

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Luddite Jean in England sent these two news links:: 200 shops a Day to close this year in high street bloodbath, and Cold war! 12 freezing European countries without gas as Russia switches off supply (Jean added this explanatory comment: “Russia has long accused the Ukraine of stealing [natural] gas from the pipeline, and are using this as an excuse. The real reason is purely economic – the price of Urals Crude oil has fallen to $32, and Russia no longer has enough money to run the economy. They are holding Europe to ransom, and demanding higher prices for the gas.”) And here is the latest from Cheryl: US Stocks Drop Erasing Most of ’09 Gains — Alcoa to Slash 13,500 Jobs, Reduce Aluminum Output — India: Trucks Go Off Roads Over Fuel Prices, Food Shortages Feared — Don’t Get Used to Cheap Oil, Analysts Say — Fed: Economic Woes Will Last Despite Radical Moves — Chrysler Sales Plummet 53% — Subaru Posts 2008 Increase in US — Private Sector Cut 693,000 Jobs in December

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"With the exception only of the period during which the gold standard was in effect, virtually all governments throughout history have used their exclusive power to issue money, as a method to defraud and plunder the people." – Friedrich von Hayek

Note from JWR:

The sale goes on! More than 700 SurvivalBlog readers have bought Foodsaver vacuum packing/sealing systems at the special $59.99 sale price. I had thought that the sale would end on December 31st but the manufacturer is still honoring the sale price while supplies last. (The promotion program manager mentioned that it would be less than two weeks.) We get a little “piece of the action” for each order. So this a is a great way to save money and to support SurvivalBlog in the new year. Don’t miss out on this sale! You can buy a FoodSaver v2830 for $59.99 (originally $169.99) with free Standard Shipping for orders over $100, directly FoodSaver.com.Use code L8FAV28 at checkout. Note that the special price will not show up until the last step of the checkout process.

By buying foods in bulk and re-packaging them in more handy (single meal size) vacuum bags, you can save a lot of money on your grocery bill. You can also vacuum pack Mason jars! (These come with a wide mouth Mason jar adapter as an included accessory.) But be sure to get an additional regular mouth Mason jar adapter, for an extra $8.99.) Buy a FoodSaver. You’ll be glad that you did!

Letter Re: Advice on Grungy Military Surplus Magazines

I took your advice and ordered some FN-FAL magazines from What-A-Country, and they were promptly delivered. However, I was surprised to find that the military surplus magazines were quite dirty with what appeared to be black sand, and slightly oily. Is that common for used magazines? As a first time battle rifle owner making my first military surplus purchase. I don’t know if this is common practice or not. If it is, what is the best way to properly clean the magazines so they can be used? Any advice or a link to a web site with additional information would be appreciated. – SteelerFan

JWR Replies: That isn’t very unusual. When buying military surplus, I’d much rather get oily or greasy mags, because that indicates that an effort was made to protect from rust in all those years of storage.What-A-Country imports most of their magazines from Israel. And the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has almost always done a good job with storing weapons and accessories. (For example, I’ve seen Lee-Enfield rifles that had been in storage in an Israeli warehouse for 50 years that still looked arsenal-new, once the grease was removed.)

I once bought a large batch of Thompson SMG magazines that were practically pumped full of grease. Yeech! It took a lot of time to degrease those.

OBTW, if the magazines that you bought are grungy inside, it doesn’t take long to disassemble them. If there is a lot of grease, you’ll need to use a solvent (such as Birchwood Casey Gun Scrubber), otherwise just wiping them down with paper towels will usually suffice. But again, be sure to examine their interiors. (Needless to say, the usual safety provisos on avoiding skin contact and inhaling vapors of Tri-Chlor-based solvents apply!) One you’ve cleaned the magazines inside and out, wipe them down with a light coat of oil, or perhaps a heavy coat if you live in a region with high humidity. and for long-term storage in a damp climate, RIG is ideal. (But then, of course someday you’ll be back to square one–removing grease, before use.)

Letter Re: Bulk Diesel Fuel Antibacterial and Stabilizer

Hi
As to diesel fuel treatment, it is a investment that will involve the operation and reliability of your backup power engines and vehicles. The fuel is expensive so don’t cheap out on the fuel treatment. You need to have a diesel fuel maintenance program in place,
1. Treat the fuel with the proper required [stabilizing and antibacterial] chemicals.
2. Clean and polish the fuel once a year, pump the water & sludge out of the bottom of the tank. A clogged fuel filter is a serious problem.
A cheap cleaning rig can be home made, [consisting of] two filters a 20 micron and a 4 micron bought off eBay and a pump and some gauges. This can be offered to another family for a rental fee.
3. Send out a fuel sample to a lab for testing every year or two. Order a test kit online.

I worked for a telephone company doing backup power systems nationwide for years. Caterpillar provide me with a company that provides good products. I would not go dumping anything into my generators I was not sure of or was not approved by the manufacturer- TEN-32 is the product I used. Check out their web site and e-mail them questions.

You have a great blog, I try to support the advertisers, too. Thanks, Ed S.