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.”

Note from JWR:

If you find what you read at SurvivalBlog informative and entertaining, then please become a 10 Cent Challenge subscriber. Subscriptions are entirely voluntary but are an important part of how I earn a living. (And what keeps me from quitting the blog and going back to tech writing in the corporate world.).

Protecting Yourself From Coming Stock Market Declines

Last week, after Citigroup reported a net loss of nearly $10 billion for the quarter, the New York Stock Exchange had its biggest percentage drop for a January in 17 years. Between Monday and Friday, the DJIA dropped more than 670 points. The S&P and NASDAQ posted similar losses. This doesn’t look good. There is an old saying on Wall Street: “As goes January, so goes the rest of the year.” (And this has been borne out statistically.) My friend The Chartist Gnome is recommending that his clients get out of nearly all of their stocks–with just a few exceptions like gold and silver mining shares. I agree with him that in the coming recession the US stock market is likely to decline considerably, and possibly suffer a full-scale crash. FWIW, the Gnome says that expects to see a split sector bond rally in 2008. (With Federal bonds doing well, but municipal bonds plummeting.) Regardless, be ready for lots of instability in the financial and equities markets in 2008. As I often say, shelter hour assets in tangibles.

I often have consulting clients and SurvivalBlog readers mention that they have a good chunk of their savings “locked up” in 401(k) retirement savings plans. Most say that they cannot touch those funds without huge penalties. My advice to them is two-fold: 1.) If possible, convert your 401(k) into a gold IRA. 2.) If that is not possible, then at least direct your IRA portfolio into conservative investments. Currently, something like a Federal Bond Fund would probably be best.

Readers that hold stocks often ask me what “safe” stocks to buy and hold. My answer invariably is that there are NO safe stocks to hold in the long term.. Since we are entering an era where the viability of the dollar itself is threatened, then all investments denominated in US Dollars are at risk. Hyperinflation would wipe out any “gains” in your stock portfolio. Just ask anyone living in Zimbabwe what their “gains” have been in the past four years. When a currency is in freefall, nobody wins except a deeply-indebted government.

Gold IRAs are available through Swiss America Trading Company. I have had a gold coin IRA since 1998. Once established, these accounts are measured in an “ounce” value with a “Beginning Cost Basis” noted for when your dollars were first converted into U.S. Gold Eagles. In my case, the “GEB” (Gold Eagle Bullion) coins they put in storage for me cost $298 per ounce. The coins are physically stored by Goldstar Trust, a bonded vault company in Texas. The annual storage and administration fee recently got bumped up to $90 per year, but in my opinion that is a small price to pay for knowing that when I eventually cash out my IRA it will be in tangible form, rather than an investment vehicle denominated in dollars. I have no way of knowing how much the US Dollar will depreciate in the next 15 years, but it is pretty safe to say that gold will still have the same–or nearly the same–buying power that it does today. I strongly recommend that if you have an IRA or 401(k) account that you conduct a fund “rollover” into a Gold IRA.

Letter Re: An Approaching Tsunami for Hedge Fund and Muni Bond Insurers

Dear Mr. Rawles,
Would you buy stock in Allstate Insurance or Farmer’s Insurance if you knew a tsunami was going to hit the entire East Coast? If you had foreknowledge of such a catastrophe, you certainly wouldn’t put your money into insurance companies, because no insurance company could cover an event that huge. I believe that something analogous is what is now happening in the financial markets. Savvy investors are getting out of financial insurance companies that may be asked to cover huge losses projected to occur this year. These Wall Street companies insure pension funds, CDOs, hedge funds, and other financial instruments, including those that contain the toxic subprime mortgages and other questionable mortgages.

Insurance is the last line of defense against collapse of these giant funds. I wanted to take a look at what has been happening to this particular kind of insurance company lately. Here’s what I found:

ACA Capital Holdings Inc. (ACAH) has lost almost all its value and could be out of business within hours.

Ambac Financial Group Inc. (ABK) has dropped about 80% in value in the past month, and just today has lost its AAA credit rating.

MBIA, Inc. (MBI) dropped about 77% in value in the past month. It’s also in danger of a downgraded credit rating

Assured Guaranty Ltd. (AGO) has dropped about 37% in value in the past month.

RAM Holdings Ltd. (RAMR) has dropped about 80% in value in the past month.

MGIC Investment Corporation (MTG) has dropped about 56% in value in the past month.

Radian Group Inc. (RDN) has dropped about 56% in value in the past month.

Moneygram International, Inc. (MGI) has dropped about 74% in value in the past month.

Please note that these losses are just in the past month. Most of these companies had already lost heavily earlier in 2007. These are all the publicly traded insurance companies that I know of in this specialized market. In other words, the whole sector is quickly deteriorating. This is not being reported by the press in any coherent fashion.
These specialized insurance companies also insure municipal bonds for cities, schools, hospitals etc. If the insurance companies go broke, many funds such as retirement funds will crumble.

Minyanville just came out today with a good article on insuring financial derivatives.

The point of all this is that investors are getting out of this type of insurance because they know that the funds that have been insured are garbage and no insurance company has enough money to pay for a huge catastrophic event, any more than a home insurance company could cover a tsunami affecting the whole east coast. The insurance company would just go broke. That’s what appears to be happening. This is an earthshaking event. The lack of support by investors would seem to indicate that the funds are in far worse shape than anyone is willing to admit publicly.
These insurance companies are the last desperate hope of a failing trillion dollar market. If they can’t prop it up, nobody can. – K.L. in Alaska

Letter Re: A Reader Comments on the Mossberg 590A Riot Shotgun

Jim;
I recently purchased a Mossberg Model 590A [12 gauge] riot shotgun. They are a lot cheaper than the Remington tactical or other brands and I feel more reliable–also the opinion of many in the military
Here are the specification differences from a standard Mossberg Model 500:
– A steel receiver as opposed to aluminum alloy
– Extra thick walled heavy barrel
– Metal trigger guard versus polymer
– Metal safety [button] versus polymer
– Ghost ring sights
– All matte finish
– Has 8+1 versus 7+1 capacity

The shotgun performed as expected–flawless, digest all ammo, good handling/target acquisition,and lots of aftermarket stock options available. The only down side is Mossberg will not port these barrels–must be sent off for that upgrade to someone else,. the price is right, around $440 out the door versus. a lot more for Remington.

I like the tang-mounted safety on these, as its easier to use with out moving your hand around and good for lefties as well. The length of pull is 14.5 inches. Other stocks can be found thru Midway that are 12″-to-13″ for use with body armor [or heavy winter clothing].
In all, the 590A is a great shotgun that doesn’t malfunction. Simple but tough. – Jason

Odds ‘n Sods:

General Motors CEO says that oil has peaked. As I’ve said before, vehicles with a diversity of fuel sources is a good thing. If possible, retreats should have a variety of diesel, gasoline, E85, electric, and LP-powered vehicles, just to be ready for any eventuality. (A hat tip to Jason H. for sending the article link on the GM CEO‘s quote.) OBTW, I’m currently building up savings for a Bad Boy Buggy electric ATV to supplement our aging gas-powered utility ATV.

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Statistics from Memphis, Tennessee, show that concealed carry works: With more people carrying guns, self-defense killings on increase. (A hat tip to Bill N. for sending the link.)

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Thanks to B.R. for sending us this from Information Week: CIA Admits Cyberattacks Blacked Out Cities. As I have warned in some of my articles as far back as 1990 (“High Technology Terrorism”, Defense Electronics, January 1990, p. 74.), SCADA and successor software are huge “back doors” to nefarious acts. SCADA is used not only for power distribution but also in varying degrees for controlling dam floodgates, oil and gas pipelines (and their associated pumping/compressor stations), water distribution, wastewater collection and treatment, some industrial process controls (such as refineries), and some communication systems. This is a huge vulnerability.

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Dave in New York sent us this: Banning or Registering Privately Owned Fallout Meters in New York. This measure is just “to prevent panic”, dontcha know.

Note from JWR:

The high bid in the current SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction lot is now at $200. 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: Anti-Vehicular Barriers for Retreat Defense

Jim,
This video is rather impressive. The video description reads: “How many times have you wondered how strong those cement barriers are that you see in front of military base entrances?
From time to time someone asks what the concrete barriers are in front of controlled and secure buildings. When they are told that the barriers will stop traffic, even trucks, from approaching the secure building, they usually get a look of disbelief. In the test, the following parameters were used:

Truck weight = 65,000 pounds.
Speed at impact = 50 m.p.h.
Kinetic Energy = 5.5 Million foot-pounds.
Stopping distance = 24 inches.”

I thought that you might find this interesting. Keep of the GOOD work. Best Regards, – R.E.in Oklahoma

JWR Replies. That is indeed an impressive video. Something as simple as a three foot tall berm with a near-vertical face , or a two foot tall concrete “planter” with a vertical face can be almost as effective as the barrier shown in the video.

We live in a highly mechanized society, so in addition to intruders on foot, think in terms of how you would stop intruders that are in wheeled vehicles. Ideally, they should be stopped at a distance where they could then be engaged by rifle fire. And never forget the old military adage that any obstacle that is not in view of armed sentries is only a delay–not a real obstacle.

Stopping tracked vehicles is much more difficult, but thankfully the risk of being attacked by someone in a tracked vehicle is relatively low, and an armored tracked vehicle is even lower. Few of us have the means to construct obstacles to stop those! Depending on terrain, however, most of us can afford to erect barriers to wheeled vehicles. (Flat “plains” country is problematic.)

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

Dear JWR,
I would like to share some links and great references from a survival lecture and slide presentation given by one of the most important (yet non-acclaimed nearly enough) contributors to our US Strategic Warfare Development by John R. Boyd, Col. USA, deceased 1997. See this PDF of a slide presentation

I had to chuckle when I read a follow up tactical criticism submitted in an article to SurvivalBlog and to the attempted re-writing and improving potential maneuverings for chapter scenario enhancements in excerpts from your revised “Patriots” novel. I so much enjoy this novel and consider it a great reference on survival tactics. I think many people are seeking printed tactical doctrine but instead are searching in printed dogma. This is the true beauty of Boyd’s, OODA and Conceptual Spiral Processes in strategic maneuvering applied in tactics–they are not static and limited only to the user’s ability to apply the processes. Your individual outcome is personalized by your individual input. I hope this information will assist us all to reach out to study and think and respond outside of the doctrine box. Even now his concepts are being adapted for use in the realms of world business applications.
Here is my analogy of OODA and Conceptual Spiral in its sublime offensive performance in survival strategic applications. As is said in [the movie] The Matrix: “There is no spoon.” – KBF

 

Hey Jim,
Let me fist say, as an outdoorsman and someone who has always felt the need to be prepared. I love your site. Tons of great info, great ideas and lots of different topics. That being said I would like to encourage you and your readers to keep things in perspective. I think we all agree that hard times are inevitable for this country and the world. We all “feel” it. But 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.
That being said, [Robert’s article] would have been great food for thought if it had been left at “consider going on the offensive and here are some of Sun Tzu’s thoughts”. 1 – 3 great points! But next we have some guy walking around with a suppressed pistol whacking people and shooting pre-placed sheds full of chemicals that explode.

From what I understand, you’ve written a great novel (I haven’t read yet “Patriots”) but this kind of stuff gives us a bad name. I have referred several people to this site and I pray they did not read that post. I would encourage people to be very careful when developing hypothetical situations in their heads. They have no proof that it will happen, or how bad it will be.

We need to promote preparation, protection, self-sufficiency, educate your family, squirrel away some food! Preparation means being prepared for a whole host of situations, not writing the sequel to “The Postman” movie. Thank you for my favorite site on the Internet! – Pathfinder

JWR Replies: I agree that there is a risk of letting one’s imagination run wild, or unbridled “what if” conjecture. But I also agree with Robert that flexibility and the ability to venture and out and then employ time-proven “offense is the best defense” axiom. That flexibility would be desirable in “worst case” situations where law enforcement is non-existent and your retreat might come under a lengthy siege–a situation where you are completely on your own. Granted, the chance of an extended breakdown of law and order is small, but it is impossible to rule it out.

 

Jim,
I also have read “The Art of War” and have been in battle more then once. I agree on some of what was said but there are some things that I have used as many have in times of battle 1) you should never go into a battle without four weapons A) your main battle weapon (your brain ) B) your main battle rife C) your backup weapon [typically, a handgun] D) your back-up rifle. I will further explain: no matter what else you carry into battle is your brain–outwitting your enemy is the first thing you must do. B) your main battle rifle whatever floats your boat and become good with it until its just a another limb on your body. C) You should also become as good with your first backup weapon as your primary. (B). D) depending on what my mission was I would carry [in my vehicle] a sniper’s rifle or if it was not part of the mission requirements it would be whatever the enemy was mostly carrying and 9 out of 10 times it was the AK-47. The reason we were trained to do that was because when running low on ammo you could always get it from enemy KIAs.

Now that you have mentioned Jim’s novel, in the part of the rescue traveling by night would have been smart but also a forward scout like on a trail bike or something of that nature also would have helped and is what I would have done for several reasons. One of them not putting all my eggs in one basket (as in man power ), next is the threat of ambush, and last a forward scout would have also be handy in the ambush for flanking those problems.

Now I have blogged before about “tree tuxe”s (Ghillie suits) before. Instead of wearing multi-colored BDU or digital [pattern ACUs] both in warm weather and cold weather a ghillie would work much better. In most cases is a better camo then anything else. Even if your enemy has night vision gear, you are hard to find [when in a ghillie suit]. Next, since any people cannot get [Federally registered, $200 transfer tax] suppressors [since they are banned under separate state laws] it is a little more close up but Robert did not say anything about a knife, tomahawk , axe, or even a compound bow which all with some practice are all very good silent killers. – CDR

JWR Replies: I agree with most of what CDR wrote, except that arrows are not usually silent killers. They kill by bleeding out an opponent. If you hit a man with an arrow–even in the heart–he’ll scream bloody murder until he bleeds out. (Typically one to four minutes.) The chances of getting a perfect spine shot–and instantaneous incapacitation–are very small.

As background, I should mention that I have an acquaintance that was a medic on a CIA covert operations team in the late 1970s. On one mission, against his advice, the team leader tried using a 200 pound draw weight crossbow for taking out a sentry. The sentry screamed and yelled so loudly that he woke everyone up for a long distance. So much for “covert”. A tomahawk, a short axe (such as a miner’s axe), or a even a short-handled two-pound sledge hammer to the back of the neck or base of the skull is far superior for sentry removal.

I also agree that ghillie suits are a good option, in most circumstances. Two exceptions: Very brushy terrain where they can easily get snagged, and very hot weather, when wearing a Ghillie suit could quickly turn you into a heat casualty.

Odds ‘n Sods:

The US Federal Reserve appears poised to significantly increase its purchases of Treasury securities. These purchases are called an open market operations or “repos”, and are highly inflationary, if done to excess. Since the Accord of 1951, the Federal Reserve banking cartel has been in full control of open market operations. The credit market is presently going through an unprecedented collapse, so be ready for more Fed “liquidity pumping” and hence more inflation!

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From Reuters: ‘Second Thoughts about Fluoride,’ Reports Scientific American. Yet another good reason to move to the hinterboonies.

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Desert T., Rightcoast, and KBF all recommended the upcoming History Channel documentary series titled “Life After People“. The show premieres on Monday. (January 21, 2008.)

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Reader Eric S. sent this: Wealthy may be next in line in U.S. home crisis