Weekly Survival Real Estate Market Update

Winter Home Inspections
Although winter time retreat shopping can afford many positives like reduced prices and motivated sellers, there can also be a few downsides as well. While purchasing your retreat during the winter, especially when there is a considerable amount of snow on the ground, extra care must be taken during your inspection period. Many surprises may await you when the spring thaw arrives. Among them may be hidden trash and slash piles that will have to burned or removed, road grading and repair work, downed frost free spigots, fencing repairs, vegetation removal and major grounds keeping issues that are hidden under the snow. That nice rock flowerbed may be a heap when the snow melts due to falling ice/snow off the roof. Also, varmints and pest infiltration can be a major issue especially in unoccupied dwellings. On a side note a recent home inspection report here stated “The woodpeckers appear to have mounted an attack on the front porch eve”. Funny? Absolutely! But not to the new owner. Beware of unoccupied dwellings for sale, especially in the winter. Snow hides many maintenance items that may need to be addressed and could be quite costly. Asking the seller to plow the driveway may be one thing but asking them to remove the snow load all the way around the house and each out building so the inspector can complete a thorough inspection may be an issue, especially with upwards of three solid frozen feet of snow on the ground here in the mid-range elevations of northern Idaho. This cost may range upwards of over a thousand dollars and sellers who have had their property overpriced and on the market for a while will not be motivated to incur such costs unless you release some earnest money to pay for it, and the fee reimbursed should you actually purchase the property. Why? Who knows, it makes no sense to me, but some sellers are very stubborn, to their own detriment.

Here is a list of items to make sure are working and not damaged during a winter time purchase: Well and well pump(s), all water lines (have they burst?), septic lines and tank, any generators and off grid solar components (have the batteries been neglected or are they due for replacement or upgrade?), wood decking (has the snow cracked or otherwise damaged the decks/railings/steps), wood stoves and piping/flues (creosote build-up or other deferred maintenance like loose flashing at the roof seal?), roofing (has the snow load loosened or ripped off any shingles?)–a good reason to have metal roof (for fire protection as well), any appearance of water intrusion into the basement or crawl space in winter is really going to be an issue in the spring. It is recommended that the buyer be present at the home inspection and normally a good inspector will let the buyer follow them around the home for most of the inspection. Most inspectors will be happy to let you tag along, as you’re paying them and they will explain certain details of demerit or merit, as you go.

If the retreat you’re buying has been on the market for a while, then your agent should have visited the property during the summer/fall months and therefore should be aware of any issues regarding road, vegetation, downed timber, and landscaping issues that wouldn’t be obvious under snow cover. This is one more reason to seek out a qualified retreat real estate agent in your desired locale.

Survival Supplies Storage
Once you have closed escrow, the work begins at your new retreat. As I have stated before several times, before TEOTWAWKI the threat of fire will be either first or second on the list of major threats, next to theft. Speaking with a client this morning I was very specific that they should store their supplies ‘assuming’ that the retreat was going to burn down. Yes, having just spent a bunch of money on a retreat one may feel a bit annoyed, but storing expensive supplies under the house or hidden in walled over closets and crawl spaces is at best mediocre and dangerous at worst. If there is not a full concrete built basement under the house where a bunker can be walled off to survive a fire and water damage then an alternatively located underground bunker must be built, period. It would be better to put a bit less cash down on the property and save $15,000 for building a self contained storage bunker than to lose it all during fire season, or worse yet from a small propane heater malfunction– the heater that must be left on during the winter in order to keep your water pipes from freezing while the place is not attended. Not living at your retreat full time has its issues, none of which cannot be overcome with a little forethought.

A simple excavated 12’x12′ (finished size) underground concrete room–typically insulated concrete form (ICF) block–with proper drainage on the sides/underneath and a small CONEX container placed on top would probably be enough for anyone’s basic storage of supplies. (Clothes, storage food, medical supplies, tents, sleeping supplies, guns, and ammo). These supplies would be needed to survive if you were to find the main retreat structure just a smoking hole, upon arrival. Note that the CONEX should have a secured internal vertical entrance door leading to the shelter. [JWR Adds: in addition to a stout lock and equally stout hasp, the trapdoor should be concealed beneath something that doesn’t look worth stealing, such as burlap sacks full of rags, prominently marked “Extra shop rags”.] The rest of the less essential and less valuable supplies can be hidden in the retreat itself, but always have a reserve in place. Owning a retreat is a blessing, and very few have the opportunity. Just be diligent about your supplies, since storage consideration are as important as the retreat itself.

If you have any questions about retreat real estate in northern or north central Idaho, then please contact Todd Savage via e-mail at: toddsavage@meadowcrk.com

Odds ‘n Sods:

Loyal content contributor RBS sent us this “must bookmark” link: The Librums’s PDF Collection. It is veritable gold mine of mostly out-of-print books on practical skills.They are primarily late 19th Century, but there are also a few modern titles like the “US Army Special Forces Medical Handbook”, “Where There is No Dentist”, and “Where There is No Doctor.” They have lots of free gardening books, formularies, recipe books, and so forth. The usual provisos on 19th Century book reprints apply: Most notably, safety standards in those days were not quite the same as today’s, so be careful around harmful or explosive vapors, unshielded blades, and so forth.

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Eric flagged this one: Steve Forbes Says U.S. Dollar Policy Amounts to `Zimbabwe Economics’

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Charley S. mentioned that the Fedco Seed Co-op, based in Maine (but with growers all over the country) is by far the best value in heirloom seeds. Charley says: “You get, on average, twice as much seed for your money (and I’ve compared them, variety by variety, with all the best-known companies. They also have the most extensive, information-packed, and well-written catalog.”

More Angst on Wall Street

The recent overseas stock sell-off inspired the White House and congress to start talking about manna from heaven, in the form of tax rebate checks. The same day, the Federal Reserve announced what can only be seen as a desperation measure–a one-day .75% interest rate cut on two key rates–has done little to reassure the traders on Wall Street. The market is starting to make some wild daily swings, mostly downward. This piece from The New York Times sums up the big picture nicely: Worries That the Good Times Were Mostly a Mirage. Meanwhile, we read: Plenty to chew on for great minds of Davos. All the signs point to a big, deep, recession. Even Herculean amounts of liquidity pumping and “helicopter dropping” won’t stop this one.

The core of the financial problem is that bankers won’t make loans when they cannot properly evaluate risk. As I’ve noted before, the credit collapse was triggered by the subprime mortgage debacle, and the contagion spread to all sectors of the banking world. There are so many loans that are wrapped up in so many “repackaged” aggregations and “investment vehicles” that nobody really knows who owns what debts, and exactly by what underlying assets they are backed. The CDO and SIV pundits use the term “marked to market.” But I have coined the term marked to mystery. That is a better description of what is going on. The global credit market is now like a giant mushroom farm–where everyone is kept in the dark and fed horse manure. There are mountains of mystery debts held by countless corporations, governments, and institutions. In this unprecedented credit environment, ultra-low interest rates will not revive the sagging economy. The bankers are still petrified, and who can blame them? We recently learned that even the credit ratings agencies were in on the sub-prime swindle. So the bankers can longer trust the word of the “expert analysts” at Moody’s and S&P.

No doubt the President’s Working Committee on Markets (commonly called the Plunge Protection Team) will be working late and ordering pizza delivery. It think that Ben Bernanke & Company will need bigger helicopters, and more of them. This is going to get a lot worse before it gets better. Be prepared for a deep recession with layoffs, tax-funded bailout shenanigans, “incentive” programs, stagflation, huge write-offs of derivatives losses, failed municipal bond funds, the whole works. The big question is: will over the counter derivatives trading carry on as before, without too much disruption? If the answer is no–if there is a derivatives meltdown, then all bets are off. We are talking about possibly hundreds of trillions of dollars in derivatives in play at any given time. A full scale derivatives meltdown would probably trigger a global depression that could last decades, and topple national governments. I’m dead serious about this.

For those of you that took my advice and bought silver and gold, congratulations. You will at least have your capital protected, and might even profit handsomely. Lower interest rates mean a weaker dollar, and that means higher precious metals prices. Jean-Claude Trichet, the head of the European Central Bank (ECB) has said that there is little chance of a European interest rate cut, to follow the Fed’s suit. So keep watching the US Dollar Index in the months to come. Any further interest rate cuts by the Fed will probably result in a huge devaluation of the dollar.

A Honeybee CCD Disaster Soon?–Bee Prepared!

In the past three days, more than a dozen SurvivalBlog readers e-mailed this article link from The Telegraph: Honeybees may be wiped out in 10 years. I can not overstate that this is very alarming news. If the honeybee hive losses are universal in the “breadbasket” regions in the middle latitudes around the world, it would be cataclysmic for agriculture. The loss of honeybees for pollination because of CCD and/or successive waves of disease could very well cause a global famine that might result in a 20%+ die-off of global population and veritable TEOTWAWKI.

Even if there is just an outside chance of a honeybee die-off, it is prudent to redouble your preparedness efforts:

Food storage. Increase the depth of your family’s food storage program. Heretofore, I had recommended a two year supply. I am now recommending a four year supply.

Seed gathering and storage. Gardening without the help of bees will make seed saving all the more important. Keeping a four year supply of non-hybrid (open pollinated or “heirloom”) seeds is now appropriate. Without bees, the chances of a “zero yield” year of seed gathering for any particular variety goes up considerably. Having extra seed will be crucial for charity and barter–to supply your friends and neighbors.

Greenhouses. Increase your area “under glass.” If you live in snow country, then buy a greenhouse that can take a snow load, like a Turtle Tuff geodesic dome greenhouse. Two other advantages of these greenhouses are that 1.) they can be disassembled in a few hours and put in storage seasonally, and 2.) they can also easily be taken with you if you need to relocate your retreat.

Hand pollinating. Practice the art of hand pollinating. Every fruit and vegetable we eat cannot be produced by a plant without a flower being pollinated. Plantsmen have been hand pollinating for more than 100 years to breed new varieties. This involves mimicking bees by carrying pollen from one flower to another–typically with a feather, Q-Tip or a small paintbrush. This is very labor intensive. It might be prudent to start thinking along the lines of which plants produce the most food per pollination. For example pollinating apple blossoms would yield more calories per pollination than a cherry blossom. And beefsteak tomatoes would yield more per pollination than a cherry tomatoes. In a world without bees, think of terms of dwarf or semi-dwarf variety fruit trees, to make hand pollinating easier. (It is not realistic to expect to be able to hand pollinate 25 feet up a ladder.)

In closing, think through the full implications of a honeybee die off. Fruit might only be readily available in Third World countries, where there is a large pool of cheap labor for hand pollination. First World countries with a lack of agricultural day laborers might suffer. Will hundreds of thousands of Mexican farm workers be allowed into California, Florida, and Texas for hand pollination work each spring? What will be the secondary and tertiary effects of a honeybee die-off? Plan accordingly.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Eric S. sent this piece from Canada: All signs point to U.S. consumers hunkering down in recession bunkers

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Reader Dale L. mentioned that Cheaper Than Dirt now sells battery-powered surplus German field telephones (minus commo wire) for $48 per pair. Cheaper Than Dirt is not one of our advertisers, but I recommend them. Anyone looking for original USGI surplus TA-1 field telephones that don’t require batteries should contact Ready Made Resources. A good source for military surplus WD-1 commo wire is Fair Radio Sales. (Also not one of our advertisers, but recommended.)

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Bruce C. sent us this: Plague a growing but overlooked threat

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"When the federal government spends more each year than it collects in tax revenues, it has three choices: It can raise taxes, print money, or borrow money. While these actions may benefit politicians, all three options are bad for average Americans. " – Congressman Ron Paul

Note from JWR:

The high bid in the current SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction lot is now at $220. The auction is for a Brunton Solarport 4.4 watt photovoltaic panel (a $140 retail value), a Deluxe Outdoor Survival Tool Kit (a $70 retail value)–both kindly donated by Ready Made Resources–as well as seven other items: A copy of the latest edition of “The Encyclopedia of Country Living” by the late Carla Emery (a $32 retail value), an autographed copy of my novel “Patriots” (a $23 retail value), an autographed copy of my nonfiction book “Rawles on Retreats and Relocation” (a $25 retail value), a SurvivalBlog Key Logistics Tote Bag (a $17.50 retail value), and an autographed set of Michael Z. Williamson’s “Target: Terror” modern military fiction sniper trilogy, from Avon books: “The Scope of Justice“, “Targets of Opportunity“, and “Confirmed Kill“. This auction ends on February 15th. Please e-mail us your bids, in $10 increments.

Letter Re: Retreat Group Recruiting and Organization

Mr. Rawles,
One subject that seems vastly under-represented in the bulk of survivalist literature is that of organizing and recruiting.
It’s fairly obvious that in a real WTSHTF scenario, a lone wolf, or small family would be in a precarious position regardless of how well armed and well prepared they may be. A group of three or four would be hard pressed to maintain any real degree of security while going about the [gardening and other self-sufficiency] work required for basic survival.

In my experience, it’s hard enough finding someone that’s even “like minded”, let alone skilled or intelligent. There’s also a tremendous element of trust involved in attempting to organize. Approaching someone to join your survival group is a fairly risky proposition, because you’ve basically advertised the fact that you’re preparing for a worst case scenario to that person, and whomever they decide to tell. There’s a further degree of trust necessary for making mutual purchases, storing equipment at a centralized location. etc. etc. I’m sure you can think of the hundred different concerns that come into play when it comes to increasing your membership.

In your excellent novel “Patriots”, the organization element of the story sort of “fell into place” with a cadre of intelligent, like-minded individuals, possessing complementary skills assembling [partly] by chance meetings. It was also convenient that none of the group members had small children, elderly dependents or chronic health conditions. Another complication which wasn’t addressed was that of group members with other “attachments”. None of the characters in the book came to the retreat with an uninvited guest, like a sibling who had experienced a miraculous change of heart upon realizing that their “survivalist nut” brother was right all along.

This is the single most frustrating element of my preparedness efforts. I know that it’s going to take more than a tiny group of people to survive a prolonged catastrophe, but all of the potential complications involved in finding new members makes it very difficult to do any recruiting. I can acquire skills and assemble materials to the best of my abilities, but in the end, there won’t be any real substitute for a few more rifle-wielding warm bodies.

Any insights, strategies or suggestions you might have for filling the void would be much appreciated. Sincerely, – LW

JWR Replies: The situation I described in my novel actually mirrored my personal circumstances at the time that I wrote the first draft, in early 1990. I had just been married three years, and my wife and I had not yet had any children. Although I consolidated things a bit to avoid having “a cast of thousands”, the majority of the characters in the novel were based on real-life friends, and “The Group” paralleled a group that I had associated with since college.

When recruiting for any retreat group, proceed with prayer.

To supplement your own extended family, try to find folks with the same religious background and representing a good mix of skills. My novel “Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse” describes some of the specific skills that would be ideal for a group retreat–like a doctor, a mechanic, a machinist/welder, a farmer, a combat veteran, and so on. If you are already living at your intended retreat, it is probably best to recruit locally. If not, then you should probably recruit regionally looking for preparedness-minded people that have the same long-term relocation destination, or at least the willingness to be flexible about where they relocate.

As previously mentioned in SurvivalBlog, I recommend three web sites (two paid, and one free) for making connections–whether you are looking to join or form a retreat group, or even for someone looking looking for a “prepper” spouse. They are:

Conservative Match (a paid matchmaking service–based on shared conservative political/social views)

Liberty Mates (a paid matchmaking service–based on shared libertarian views)

The Survivalist Groups [“Meet-up”] web page–(a free service courtesy of the folks at SurvivalistBooks.com. If you use this service, then please give SurvivalistBooks.com some business!)

Needless to say, use discretion when using these services. As a prepared individual, you have more to lose than most folks. For your safety and security, it is better to go through a long series of correspondence and to do some background and reference checking before revealing your locale and details, or meeting face to face.

Letter Re: How to Win with Asymmetric Warfare, by Robert R.

Hi JWR.
I read the responses to my article and wanted to write a reply that addresses Pathfinder’s comments, which in a nutshell said my examples with [registered] suppressors [for firearms] and night vision were dangerous and would give the wrong idea about being a “survivalist”.

Pathfinder, I appreciate your worry that some people may have an over active imagination and end up doing some bad things given the ideas for possible tactics to use in an absolute worst case scenario, or that these tactics may scare off people who are just learning about survivalist information and browsing the site. However, as you said yourself, “we do not know how severe, how long, how dangerous, or how chaotic the theoretical “hard times” can or even will be! I feel the need to prepare, but I pray that I never need to use it.”

You are totally correct. that “We do not know how severe, how long, how dangerous, or how chaotic” things will be. For all we know, a terrorist nuke could go off in Los Angeles tomorrow morning, crash the world economy, have complete breakdown of law and order, martial law, and implementation of numerous executive orders (that are already on the books) that would turn the United States into something worse than Nazi Germany within a month. So since I don’t know the future and what it may bring, what harm could it be to allow my imagination to consider the absolute worst possible scenarios and what I would need to do to survive them? Night vision and suppressors have excellent non-combative uses. It is nice to star gaze with night vision, and having suppressors lets me shoot without hearing protection on.

But if things ever really go south, I can use those things and all the clever tricks I can think of, to defeat my enemies and be a shining example of what one free American can do without the aid of a Nanny government. The greatest strength is in you, the individual citizen. With our freedoms we can arm ourselves, train ourselves, and protect ourselves and our neighbors during times of crisis. That is what America is supposed to be about, safeguarding the inherent rights and freedoms of the individual human being to allow for the greatest growth and strength of each individual. I choose to exercise my right to bear arms, of all kinds, and am proficient in their use. And should danger of any kind ever arise to threaten myself, family, friends, community, or country, then that danger will be met by what is the single best answer to all dangers–a prepared American citizen. – Robert R

Odds ‘n Sods:

Have you seen the “Tick Tick Boom” music video promo for the new season of “Jericho“? I thought that the snippet of the speech from a representative of the “Allied States of America” was reminiscent of the “Mr. Clarke” character from the “Provisional Government of the United States” in my novel “Patriots”. I am really looking forward to the new season, which will premiere on February 12th. (We don’t own a television here at the ranch, but CBS network shows can be watched online.)

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Reader RBS sent us this: Cashiers vulnerable to flu from banknotes.

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By way of The Prudent News, a FEMA web page on Hazardous Materials (HazMat) Incidents

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Our friend Eric sent this: George Soros predicts worst recession in 50 years

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"Laws are made for men of ordinary understanding and should, therefore, be construed by the ordinary rules of common sense. Their meaning is not to be sought for in metaphysical subtleties which may make anything mean everything or nothing at pleasure." – Thomas Jefferson, letter to William Johnson, 1823

Letter Re: Stock Market Turmoil – Time To Make an Exit

Jim –
I’ve been reading SurvivalBlog for a little over a year now and I enjoy the commentary immensely.

As a long-time investor and at the risk of a “pile-on” situation, I’ve got to echo the sentiments of yourself and your pundits recommending exiting the markets now and the foreseeable future. I have sold my entire portfolio in the last week or so into a down market, which I normally would never do, due to a number of significant factors – first and foremost being the fragility of the derivatives market, second being the cryptic, embedded and out-of-control debt market crisis. We all know that markets are cyclical and if you’re a chart watcher you might see the first of several “shoulders” on the bottom of the sell-off in the next week or two. We shouldn’t be fooled. In fact, we will probably see a fairly good rally in the market in the next few weeks, with or without Fed action. But, I’d caution anyone that downward pressure from inflation/debt and given that any anticipated Fed action up to a percentage point or so is probably already programmed into markets, we could well see a lonnnggg bear market, at least up until the November elections or after. The bottom line is that we are like a snake eating our own tail – if new money rushes in to a rally it is eventually consumed by artificial manipulation (inflation), loss of confidence in the dollar (unprecedented in the previous two major “corrections”), and the fall-out/bail-out from predatory lending practices that we’ll all pay for (and that we haven’t seen the end of). It is a wildly gesticulating, downward spiral echoed somewhat in the 1920s overheated/overbought markets, except for the fact that our currency isn’t buoyed by a gold standard any more. Fiat currencies inevitably crash and fail, as proven time and again by history.

My actions (in order of priority) have been to eliminate all debt about a year ago (we sold off a tremendous amount of personal assets to accomplish this, but we endured the pain and got it done), recently sold completely out of the market (except for precious metals funds and a gold IRA–which we may get out of completely in the near future if institutional/government gold has indications of getting sold), and sold our primary residence when the market plateaued last summer. Now we’ll sit on the sidelines and watch, continuing to prepare for tough times in the future. That said, as in any bear market there are buying opportunities. We will buy into a distressed real estate market by the end of the year or early next, and pay cash for the transaction. It’s not so much that we are timing a buy into real estate, but that dollar buying power will continue to erode as inflation increases – both issues combine to create a significant opportunity to buy in the next year or so.

I also think it is the time to invest in “black” rifles, any handguns, and hi-cap magazines for all. The writing is on the wall on all these commodities – strange to call them that, but that’s the world we’re in – unless a miracle happens we’ll have both an Executive and Legislative Branch controlled by Western European-style Socialists come next January. All the other “tangibles” are probably a good bet, my only problem is that they don’t provide current income at a steady rate. We all have to become good at eBay, Craigslist and in-person selling, if we are not already.

My last two cents: I would recommend that anyone invested in precious metals watch the markets very carefully – there seems to be top-out sentiment at around $1,000 USD per ounce, or so. Big government or institution sales into the market could result in a very steep decline indeed. Keep up your good works. – Jeff K. in Singapore.

Letter Re: Anti-Vehicular Barriers for Retreat Security

Dear Jim,
I have for some time been meaning to write about vehicular and other counter-mobility obstacles. The dramatic video that you posted yesterday has prompted me.

Ever since reading “Patriots”, when the looters simply cut the lock on the front gate with a “universal key” (bolt cutters), it has been on my mind. Coming as I do from a combat engineer background, I couldn’t believe how they could have overlooked such as basic aspect of perimeter hardening. They could have very well lost that fight because some clown had the sense to bring a pair of bolt cutters along.

In terms of retreat security, counter-mobility, from both an anti-personnel and anti-vehicular aspect, must be a high priority. In your profiles of retreat people you know, I noticed that only one–the Vietnam veteran–had laid in a heavy stockpile of barbed wire. He obviously has some experience with this.

It must be stated from the onset that barriers of any kind are intended only to delay and channel aggressors, rarely will they stop them outright. Given preparation, planning, time and determination, any barrier can be breached. In a survival situation, however, this adds up to, “How bad do you want in here?” This is where the delay and channel aspects can turn into a painful experience and aggressors are forced to choose between paying dearly for entrance or picking a softer target. And that’s what we’re looking for.

From there, in terms of counter mobility, there are thus two categories…anti-vehicular and anti-personnel. As one may expect, one set is designed for cars and such and the other for humans on foot. We deal here with the vehicles.

In the anti-vehicular category there are two sub-categories; above and below ground. The below ground category consists of obstacles such as ditches, pit falls and craters (or mines if you take it all the way).
These are deliberately created, or in some cases simply improved, terrain features that prevent vehicles from moving across with ease. For example, a deep ditch with steep walls prevents easy transverse because the vehicle falls in nose first and gets stuck, unable to rear up and clear the opposite side. These sorts of obstacles have to be bridged in order to be crossed. It is unlikely in a TEOTWAWKIscenario that the looters will be bringing along bridging sections, so if time and resources permit, such features can be used to deny easy access from road frontage. If you have access to a loader of some kind, they’re not to difficult to dig (given the right ground) and when the grass grows over them they don’t appear as militant as a chain link fence. Existing ditches can be modified to achieve the sheer wall on the side facing your main line of resistance (MLR).

Such obstacles can also be installed on roads at choke points. Here is where the obstacle isn’t a ditch line running for 3?4 of a mile along your road, but a single point on a road or your driveway where the trees get in tight, for example. In the West in particular, cattle guards are outstanding. In normal times the grate stays down, when it’s time to close the road, the grate comes up. Unless they’ve brought a monster truck along, getting across one of these dug out to four feet deep is going to be an axel breaking, hood crunching proposition. (I remember well a midnight encounter with an irrigation ditch in NM that had quite the same effect)

There are several drawbacks to these features, however. First, if they are permanent and outsiders can’t get across, neither can you…unless you have your own bridging apparatus planned and on hand or permanent crossing points, such as your driveway culvert. (The classic draw bridge/cattle guard is such an example)
Second, without accompanying anti-personnel obstacles and being well covered, they make good cover for anyone dismounted, being that they are essentially a trench. But, if far enough away from your main line of resistance, with a good bit of open ground (and maybe some anti-personnel stuff between the ditch and you) they can at least prevent a mounted attack coming in at speed right to your doorstep.

Then there are the above ground types of anti-vehicular obstacle. The concrete barrier is by the far the most common type in use here in the US . As we saw on the video, they posses impressive stopping power. (They are, however, permanent and provide cover)

Another kind is the “Bollard” type. These are simply solid posts of various materials ranging from wood to cast iron (or old cannon barrels in some places) that are dug into the ground or set down into receptacles in the ground and locked. We see these in use to deny sidewalk parking or restrict access to service roads that are in frequent use. Sometimes they are reinforced with heavy rope or chain running between them, especially if they run for any distance. Unlike a concrete barrier, they can easily be passed off as a “decorative” feature. If they happen to be made from something along the lines of railroad ties with 1in cable running between them, they become something a bit more. Even railroad rails or I beams, cut to length and placed so that a vehicle cannot squeeze through them will generally stop anything this side of a tracked armored vehicle. The real beauty of bollards is that they can be emplaced as needed, usually across choke points, and pulled up and stashed when not needed if engineered for it.

A more permanent type was seen in Britain where invasion preparations featured concrete cubes or cylinders set like the classic WWII dragon’s teeth. There were also the classic I-beam “hedgehogs” where beams were welded together in a crossing pattern and then secured in some manner to the ground.

Then there are good old fashioned gates. As we saw in “Patriots”, a gate is only as strong as whatever is locking it closed. As they are also dependent on hinges generally, if the post goes, so does the gate. Only the most robust structures of this type will stop vehicles generally.

There is one other kind, however, that was employed all over southern Britain in preparation for the expected German landings. These were gates of a sort, but instead of having the opening and closing feature, they were simply two very heavy colonnades of stone and concrete on each side of the road with slots left in them for inserting railroad rails or I-beams when the time came.

A good cross section of these pre-invasion obstacles set out in southern Britain can be seen at this web site. Typically British, they were usually unobtrusive, which may also be a boon for retreats wishing to avoid the “Nut case survivalist” label too soon into the game.

In any case, anti-vehicular counter mobility obstacles should be part of any survivalist retreat plan. Be they professional looking “Driveway” bollards or simply trees knocked down across the road [an “abatis”] when the time comes, they prevent looters from roaring up to your doorstep and bailing out guns ablaze. Even a strategically planted line of fast maturing trees will have the desired effect.

Surfing around online a bit will give all sorts of good ideas, as will a copy of the [U.S. Arm]y Engineer Field Data manual, FM 5-34.

In any case, the inventive will come up with any number of ways to block roads when sticking to the two main categories; above and below ground obstacles. But always remember, obstacles are not intended to stop an advancing aggressor in their tracks. They are intended to slow them down or channel them into kill zones of your choosing. Essentially, with anti-vehicular emplacements, the best idea is to turn a mounted, 40 m.p.h. advance in a steel chassis into a dismounted, 8 m.p.h. advance behind a cotton shirt.(Or, at the very least a 10m.p.h. advance as they slow down to try and get past all this crazy junk in the road, at which point their 8 cylinder engine starts becoming a 9, 10, 11, 12 cylinder because of the 30-06 AP that’s ventilating the engine block.)

At that point, your adversary may just decide that attacking you is a bit too pricey and move on.

P.S.: if any of you haven’t read “Patriots” yet, do so. Then read it again…and take technical notes. I recommend tabbing a notebook into relevant categories such as food, firepower, communications, fortification, etc. Jim’s novel is a field manual in it’s own right. – Mosby

Odds ‘n Sods:

Three bits of heavy duty economic Gloom und Doom: Jonas sent this: Dow Jones Industrial Average futures down nearly 500 points, Eric sent this: A 1,000 Point Drop On The Dow? , and Stephen in Iraq sent this: Shares Tumble in Asia and Europe. Our friend Randy commented in a recent e-mail:: “Things are not looking too rosy for Tuesday’s market opening bell in New York.”

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Thanks to E.S. for this: India battles to contain ‘very serious’ bird flu outbreak

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Jeff C. mentioned that www.RARESEEDS.com sells only heirloom (non-hybrid) varieties.

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Florida Guy mentioned that hot on the heels of the successful big-budget post-plague movie “I Am Legend” comes a post-plague movie titled “Doomsday” that at least from the trailer looks like a cross between “Escape From New York” and “The Road Warrior“. It is scheduled for release in March. Here is a description: “In “Doomsday,” a lethal virus spreads throughout a major country and kills hundreds of thousands. To contain the newly identified Reaper [virus], the authorities brutally quarantine the country as it succumbs to fear and chaos. The literal walling-off works for three decades – until Reaper violently resurfaces in a major city. An elite group of specialists, including Eden Sinclair (Mitra), is urgently dispatched into the still-quarantined country to retrieve a cure by any means necessary. Shut off from the rest of the world, the unit must battle through a landscape that has become a waking nightmare.”