Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.” – Matthew 6:1-4 (KJV)

Notes for Saturday – March 04, 2017

Today is the birthday of James Ellroy (b. 1948), an American noir novelist. He authored L.A. Confidential, which later became a popular film.

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Today, we present another entry for Round 69 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $15,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate that is good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chrome-lined barrel and a hard case to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel, which can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools and a compact carry capability in a hard case or 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. An infrared sensor/imaging camouflage shelter from Snakebite Tactical in Eureka, Montana (A $350+ value),
  6. Gun Mag Warehouse is providing 20 Magpul PMAG 30-rd Magazines (a value of $300) and a Gun Mag Warehouse T-Shirt; (an equivalent prize will be awarded for residents in states with magazine restrictions),
  7. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  8. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  9. Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Second Prize:

  1. A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case (a $2,400 value),
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. A gift certificate for any two or three-day class from Max Velocity Tactical (a $600 value),
  4. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  5. A Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 value),
  6. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  7. A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value),
  8. A selection of canned meats containing a 10 pack of 28oz cans of Premium Beef and a 5 pack of 28oz cans of Premium Pork from Wertz’s Farm Market (a $300 value),
  9. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, and
  10. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Third Prize:

  1. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. A custom made Sage Grouse model utility/field knife from custom knife-maker Jon Kelly Designs, of Eureka, Montana,
  4. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  5. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  6. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  7. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  8. Montie Gear is donating a Y-Shot Slingshot and a $125 Montie gear Gift certificate.,
  9. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value), and
  10. Fifteen LifeStraws from SafeCastle (a $300 value).
  11. A $250 gift certificate to Tober’s Traditions, makers of all natural (organic if possible) personal care products, such as soap, tooth powder, deodorant, sunscreen, lotion, and more.

Round 69 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Prepping the Soul: The Skill of Multiplication, by R.S.

Even a casual glimpse at the headlines will confirm the continued descent of our society into immorality. Violence, illicit drugs, abortion, and the continued assault on the family are not only common place but are being actively sought as acceptable behavior by vast numbers of the public. Politicians are running to their defense, and legislation is following. The decline is steep. It is real, and it will continue.

Revelation 1:1 tells us that these, “things must come to pass.” John doesn’t say that it might come to pass or even that it should come to pass but that it must. The Lord Jesus will return, and we are more likely to experience that return than any generation before us. If you’re reading this then you’ve likely spent a considerable amount of time and money preparing for any of a number of TEOTWAWKI scenarios. Whatever that end may be, I can tell you one thing for sure; there’s only one thing that will matter when the end comes, and that is whether or not you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

So, as you prepare your home for whatever may come, I pray you’ll prepare your heart as well, and while you’re at it, equip yourself to bring as many with you into the kingdom as possible. You may not be able to feed your neighbors or provide for them in an emergency, but you can help in securing their eternal destiny. Nothing could be more valuable!

Fishing For Men

“Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain…” – John 15:16

“Because I said so.” – My dad

As a child, one of my least favorite phrases was “because I said so.” My dad would tell me to mow the grass. When I’d ask why, the answer was always, “Because I said so.” It is no coincidence that this phrase sits no better with me in adulthood than it did as a child.

When confronted with the task of evangelism, many Christians basically ask, “Why should I?” The answer is quite simple, “Because God said so.” As in our childhood, we grumble, unhappy that we have to do something we don’t want to do and begrudgingly go about the task, or worse yet, we don’t do it at all. Our grumbling is displeasing to the Father in both cases.

Recently as I read through the book of Matthew, something jumped out at me that I had never seen before. I had read this particular passage many times before, but I never fully understood it until that moment. In Matthew 4, Jesus is calling His disciples for the first time. He set about the task of choosing the men whom He would call friends and that He would teach and disciple throughout the rest of His life.

The very first words He ever spoke to them were, “Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” It’s so simple; I can’t believe I didn’t see it earlier. He didn’t say, “Come, follow me and I’ll make you a good person,” or “Come, follow me and I’ll teach you how to be religious.” He basically said come, follow me, and I’ll teach you how to be an evangelist.

In this context, this verse has three important parts. The first part contains the words, “Come, follow me.” Jesus has never asked us to do anything without His assistance or example. The word “follow” literally means, to go after or proceed behind. Jesus spent His life sharing Himself with people. As we become like Him, it should be our pursuit to be like Him in every way, specifically in sharing Him with people.

The second phrase is, “and I will make you.” Jesus isn’t saying that He will force us to do this but rather He will craft us to do this. He is implying that He will show us how to do it if we submit ourselves to His good and perfect will. Our life’s pursuit is to become like Him and glorify Him. However, on our own, we are incapable of any good. It is only through the redeeming power of the shed blood of Jesus Christ that we are filled with the Holy Spirit and begin the process of sanctification. Thorough our submission to His will, we can be formed into the person that He created us to be. Whether you like it or not, evangelism is part of the character He is creating in you.

The final part of this verse, “fishers of men,” uses an interesting analogy to the situation in which the disciples found themselves. Fishing was an integral part of my childhood. I spent many evenings and weekends fishing with my dad and grandpa. We lived on the water for several years and even went fishing on vacations. Our family fished a lot. From an early age, I was taught that in order to be a good fisherman, several things were required. First, you have to be patient. You are not going to catch a fish on every cast. Second, you have to be smarter than the fish. Third, you are going to get dirty. Fourth, you are not always going to catch the fish you are fishing for. Fifth, always be ready; you never know when the fish are going to bite. And finally, it is always more fun to fish with a friend.

Having majored in marketing in college and having spent many years in the business world, I’ve taken several courses on public speaking. In each of those courses, the instructors will tell you the basics of giving a good speech or presentation. Here are the three basic keys to getting your point across:

1. Tell them what you’re going to tell them.

2. Tell them.

3. Tell them what you told them.

We’ve already discussed the first thing that Jesus told his disciples. It is significant that the very first words Jesus ever speaks to His disciple’s concerns evangelism. Let’s look at how He, “tells them what He told them.”

It stands to reason that the last thing you tell someone is what they are going to remember most. At the end of the gospel of Matthew, Jesus has already been crucified, has come back to life, and is now speaking to His disciples for the last time. Thomas has seen the wounds, Christ’s deity is confirmed, and He is giving them some final instructions before He returns to heaven for the last time before the glorious appearing. In His final words to His disciples in Matthew 28:19, Jesus says, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:”

This passage has been a bastion of evangelists and missionaries for centuries. They are the parting words of our Lord and Savior. We hang on them, recite them, and, for most Christians, completely ignore them. Why is it different with evangelism? We see what God has to say about keeping his commands in John 14:21, “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” Are you walking in obedience to His commands? Or are you hiding behind weak excuses like, “Evangelism isn’t my gift.”

In large part, we are hindered by fear. Baptism and communion take place in the friendly confines of your church, among like-minded people. Evangelism takes place on the front lines of the battle. In all honesty, I’m fearful every time I share the gospel. I fear my own inadequacies and limitations. I fear rejection. I think sometimes I am standing in fear of the presence of the Lord, and I’m not alone. I’ve always been amazed at people’s reactions in the Scriptures and to the presence of heavenly beings. Have you noticed the first words out of the angel’s mouths most of the time they appear? “Don’t be afraid!” It’s the most commonly given command in scripture. Yet we continue to hide in fear. Adam hid from God. Elijah hid from Jezebel. Moses’ mother hid him in a basket. When we walk in obedience to the commands that God has given us to make Him known, we don’t walk alone. We walk hand in hand with the God of the universe, and that can be comforting, exhilarating, and scary all at the same time.

The normally brash Peter was scared before he got out of the boat and then got scared again when he saw the wind. He must have been thinking “Remind me again why I am doing this.” We often need reminding as well.

Around the time our oldest son was born I would often leave the house when it was time for him to sleep. My wife was convinced that the smallest of noises would wake him, and so I was typically banned to the backyard. After several backyard projects, I decided to go to the golf course. Normally I would go with friends, but I was off work on this particular day and ended up playing with another guy that was out by himself.

We were having a nice time from the start. He was a little old guy, who looked like he played five times a week and thought about it the other two days. He didn’t hit it very far, but he hit straight as an arrow. We made our way to the first green, and, of course, his ball was closer to the hole than mine. He picked up his ball, and I putted. Two putts later it was his turn. Instead, he simply walked off the green. I was a little puzzled but let it go and moved on. After a few holes of the same behavior, it was killing me and I had to ask.

“Okay, Joe,” I said a little perturbed but mostly curious, “You’re scoring a whole lot better than me, but I could probably make a game of it if you would putt.” Joe chuckled and said, “Why would I want to screw up a perfectly good round of golf by putting?” And that was that. Joe didn’t want to putt, because he wasn’t any good at it. He had simply eliminated the part of his game that he didn’t like or wasn’t good at it. He was content to simply do the things he liked to do. It didn’t concern him that he wasn’t playing the game the way it was supposed to be played. He was playing for his own enjoyment, not mine or anyone else’s.

I know a lot of Joes. They sit beside me at church, at work, and sometimes even in my chair. They are the ones that are playing by their own rules, content to do only the comfortable parts and happy to stick with what is easy for them. Why screw up a perfectly good Christian walk by evangelizing? I’m not any good at it. I don’t enjoy it. Someone else is surely better at it than I am. It’s not my gift. Let them do it.

It’s time I let you in on a little secret: you have to putt. You don’t get a choice. If you are truly living a life committed to God, He sets the rules. I couldn’t putt for Joe and no one else can evangelize for you. Your round is incomplete if you don’t putt. It is unfinished. Your scorecard is false.

Here’s the real kicker, and those of you who play golf will understand. There’s more joy in sinking a putt than in any other part of golf. Maybe you hit the ball a mile off the tee, but until you drop that thirty foot putt for birdie it doesn’t count. Few joys rival that of leading someone to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Just as the putt is critical in golf, evangelism is a critical component in our spiritual life.

It is so important to God that his Son used His first and last words to His disciples to say that we need to be an evangelist for the cause of Christ. He said He would set the example, and He did. He said He will show us how, and He will. But yet, we still grumble. Children, all you need to know is that you should do it because He said so.

Letter Re: Proposed Executive Order Designating Certain Rifles for ‘Militia Purposes’

Gentlemen,

The problem with this proposed executive order is that it refers to members of the “militia” rather than the citizenry.

The militia is defined under law as follows:

(a)The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard.
(b) The classes of the militia are—
(1) the organized militia, which consists of the National Guard and the Naval Militia; and
(2) the unorganized militia, which consists of the members of the militia who are not members of the National Guard or the Naval Militia.

Could this not be used to restrict ownership of arms (by some weasel) based on a person being over 45 years of age?

Perhaps a lawyer could weigh in?

Economics and Investing:

A disaster in the making: Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation Running Out Of Cash, Millions Affected – H.L.

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Systems down all Thursday afternoon for multiple banks in Texas – S.L.

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What’s Next For Gold Miners

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Bank Of America Sets A Date For The Market’s “Great Fall” – B.B.

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SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.

Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“They shall construct an ark of acacia wood two and a half cubits long, and one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high. You shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and out you shall overlay it, and you shall make a gold molding around it. You shall cast four gold rings for it and fasten them on its four feet, and two rings shall be on one side of it and two rings on the other side of it. You shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. You shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, to carry the ark with them. The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be removed from it. You shall put into the ark the testimony which I shall give you.

“You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide. You shall make two cherubim of gold, make them of hammered work at the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub at one end and one cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat at its two ends. The cherubim shall have their wings spread upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings and facing one another; the faces of the cherubim are to be turned toward the mercy seat. You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony which I will give to you. There I will meet with you; and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about all that I will give you in commandment for the sons of Israel.” Exodus 25:10-22 (KJV)

Notes for Friday – March 03, 2017

Today is remembered by Trekkers as the birthday of James Doohan, born in 1920. He played Montgomery (“Beam Me Up, Scotty”) Scott in the Star Trek television series and films. He was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. He passed way in 2005.

This is also the birthday of bluegrass musician Doc Watson. (He was born in 1923 and passed away in 2012.) His guitar work was phenomenal.

o o o

Today, we present another entry for Round 69 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $15,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate that is good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chrome-lined barrel and a hard case to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel, which can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools and a compact carry capability in a hard case or 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. An infrared sensor/imaging camouflage shelter from Snakebite Tactical in Eureka, Montana (A $350+ value),
  6. Gun Mag Warehouse is providing 20 Magpul PMAG 30-rd Magazines (a value of $300) and a Gun Mag Warehouse T-Shirt; (an equivalent prize will be awarded for residents in states with magazine restrictions),
  7. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  8. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  9. Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Second Prize:

  1. A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case (a $2,400 value),
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. A gift certificate for any two or three-day class from Max Velocity Tactical (a $600 value),
  4. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  5. A Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 value),
  6. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  7. A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value),
  8. A selection of canned meats containing a 10 pack of 28oz cans of Premium Beef and a 5 pack of 28oz cans of Premium Pork from Wertz’s Farm Market (a $300 value),
  9. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, and
  10. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Third Prize:

  1. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. A custom made Sage Grouse model utility/field knife from custom knife-maker Jon Kelly Designs, of Eureka, Montana,
  4. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  5. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  6. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  7. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  8. Montie Gear is donating a Y-Shot Slingshot and a $125 Montie gear Gift certificate.,
  9. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value), and
  10. Fifteen LifeStraws from SafeCastle (a $300 value).
  11. A $250 gift certificate to Tober’s Traditions, makers of all natural (organic if possible) personal care products, such as soap, tooth powder, deodorant, sunscreen, lotion, and more.

Round 69 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Preparing for Cyber Warfare- Part 2, by Northwoods Prepper

One advantage that we all now have in addressing a cyber attack is awareness. During heightened tensions with other countries, you will be aware of the potential risk that these devices may pose and utilize your electronic equipment sparingly. Knowledge is power.

Defensive measures have two considerations. The first thing to ask is, how should I protect myself. The second is, how should I ensure my equipment and my property is not causing damage to my country or the general population. The best defense is to eliminate dependency. Minimizing or reducing our need for electronic devices is the most practical and cost effective way to mitigate this risk. For me (and I assume most of you as well, since you are reading a blog site), these modern tools provide advantages that allow us to produce, perform, and recreate easier and faster and provide greater returns for the effort. I know I utilize my computers for work and play and do not look forward to a day where I may have to give them up. Still, it should be strongly considered, and minimizing devices as much as possible provides protection.

If you have such devices, you may be relying on your security software. While again, I am not an expert, talking to those who have an understanding, the primary functions of these programs is to prevent theft and to prevent system malfunction. These are commercial and civilian programs, and they would be of extremely limited use for sophisticated nation state supported military sponsored software. In addition, if these programs are part of your hardware or are included in your software but are having no ill effects on the system, your security software will most likely not be a target for them. We must also consider that the nation states, with significant resources available, may actually corrupt the makers of these products. China demanded access to Microsoft’s operating system, threatening to come up with an alternative and prevent Microsoft from entering the lucrative Chinese market. Microsoft, after a prolonged defiance, eventually complied and has been cooperating with the Chinese government ever since. As of 2015, the Chinese government has also announced a plan to move away from Microsoft and Apple operating systems for all government installations. Software is continually redesigned and evolving, and security software is not pre-cognizant and is always responding to the problem. While it provides a defense against rogue hackers and some criminal elements, it is very limited protection from a true cyber attack.

What are the other options aside from eliminating my devices? Richard Clarke’s book identified nation state defenses and proposed a bevy of new spending and regulation. These are all designed to protect government and infrastructure, and secondarily to protect the local citizenry by continuing active utilities and government. Most of his suggestions do not translate to the average individual, but those that did have been shared. I would love to hear comments from the other readers of this blog. I have a few ideas that I believe may mitigate some issues.

Power Down

The first is to power down and disconnect from the Internet on a regular basis, especially when you are away from your home or asleep. Most of our computers, if connected to the Internet, even while powered down may reactivate in the early morning hours to update their systems on a regularly scheduled basis in order to provide us with a better user experience. So, to truly power down, it should be disconnected from the power source, such as utilizing a power surge protector with a switch. Now, if you do have dormant malware in your system, it most likely will need an activation code to start the process for which it was designed; otherwise, these programs would be consistently revealing themselves. Powering down or disconnecting from the Internet should prevent or delay an activation code. Also, if a virus is on your system and propagating to other computers, you are minimizing the ability for it to accomplish its mission. However, I could foresee a sophisticated program that activates at a specific date or thereafter. If you have powered down your equipment and there are concerns of a global attack, be wary as you decide to engage such equipment and take appropriate precautions.

Remove Battery/Fire Risk

It should mitigate risk to remove the battery in devices. The most combustible part and key ignition source for our mobile devices is the battery. Even new desktops do not have the power override button in the back anymore, and many of these have batteries as well. Removing it from the device should render them both relatively harmless. However, if you bought a laptop recently, the batteries are no longer removable; thus, even while powered down and disconnected, I would recommend storing these devices in a place that would not create an issue if they overheated. (You might consider a kitchen counter instead of on your desk amid a pile of papers.)

One Device At a Time

Consider starting or utilizing one device at a time. If you have multiple devices and they are all powered off, do not have everyone in the house activating multiple devices at the same time. If you are in dire need of outside communication and you are activating a device, do so considerately and pay attention to it closely.

Control Access To/Disconnect From the Internet

A technique that China has developed is to disconnect from the Internet leaving China Internet operational but independent from the web. The U.S. military has a stand-alone intranet separate from the web that was infiltrated by the Russians. Disconnecting the landline in your home and disabling your Wi-Fi may mitigate risk. Unfortunately the problem is that our devices seek any and all services. If your neighborhood coffee shop has Wi-Fi that is still active, your devices may continue to communicate and be infected or create problems. Some devices have physical switches to disconnect Wi-Fi, and all have the ability to do so via software. However, it is possible that the malware may be sophisticated enough to instruct the devices to reactivate Wi-Fi communication. In more remote locations, you may be the only Wi-Fi source and therefore have a greater control, but everyone should be aware of signal sources.

Take Smartphone and Vehicles Offline (OnStar, Et Cetera)

Our smartphone devices also pick up telecommunication signals and potentially even satellite. It will be nearly impossible to disrupt these signals. As above, some devices can be instructed to go offline (airplane mode) but the same caveats about malware apply. Many of our newer vehicles are connected and some have the potential to start the ignition or unlock doors. There are multiple tutorials on how to disconnect devices such as OnStar on YouTube. You should investigate regarding the make and model of your vehicle. Again, one of the truisms often discussed here about having an older vehicle takes care of this situation.

Use Surge Protectors

Surge protectors may have some value in this situation, and again I would like to know what the readers think about this issue. I don’t know how much transient voltage a device could create. The concern from surges would actually be from cyber attacks on the grid targeting generators and eliminating protective devices. This would obviously be a non-issue if you provided your own power and were not connected to the electrical grid. Whole house and individual device surge protectors would then be a secondary protection, but this would be from the effects of the attack and not protection from the software attack.

Software and Hardware

Choice of operating systems appears to be of no benefit.

I know people who build their own computers and that may ensure some hardware security, but there is still potential to have compromised components. Knowing your own computer would allow you to confirm disconnection from electric and Internet. I have not found U.S.-made CPU’s for sale anywhere, but it is my understanding there is a push to do so for government use. A difficult effort would be to understand programming, but that would take significant time away from other activities.

If anyone had additional thoughts I would enjoy reading them. The books and articles that I have been reading are more directed to corporate or governmental protection and policy than the concerns of individuals. This may be one of the newer and graver geopolitical threats that is rapidly evolving and could potentially impact everyone connected to the Internet.

Finally, I would like to close as I opened, with references to an EMP. Again, I did not go through all the preparations we would have for an EMP, and all of those would help. Also, much like an older model car without computer components at all, a Ham radio (while still requiring electricity) may be your best consideration for communications. Lastly, you may not be able to trust an “EMP protected device” and therefore require physical copies. If you are putting that off, these physical copies can be used without devices or electricity. As always, do your own homework, make your own decisions, and God bless.

Two Letters Re: Review Of The Jøtul F 50 TL Rangeley

Hello!

Regarding FT’s review of the Jotul stove and her concern about dealing with removing and cleaning out the ash pan daily as they advance in age, I can only share my own experience as a youngster in a small southern town in the winter. In keeping with her observations about the merchant trusting her to pay for the stovepipe after installation, might I suggest that in regard to respect for elders, you’re not in California anymore? I recall my parents advising (ordering?) me to go down the road to our elderly neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Ward, every winter day after school to empty and clean their ash pan from what sounds like a similar stove for the same reasons. When I (foolishly) questioned my father as to why I had to do this on top of my regular chores, I was told “Because they can’t and you can, and that’s reason enough to help a neighbor”. If you make effort to engulf yourself in your new community, you might very well find things have not changed in Appalachia as much as you think. – Jason in TN

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HJL,

We have heated with wood only for over 30 years. For the past 16 plus years we have used a Quadra Fire. It is EPA approved and is manufactured by Hearth and Home (in Colville, WA, where it used to be Aladdin Stoves). We can and do boil water on the top of it with no problem, so cooking would not be a problem. It heats our home just fine. It comes in various sizes, based on home square footage, and has a window in the door so is lovely to watch as well as cozy up near it. Also, I don’t have the name handy, but a company in (I think it was) North Idaho makes a non-electric pellet stove. I saw it at the Sustainable Preparedness Expo in Spokane. – G.S.

Economics and Investing:

The End Of A 100 Year Global Debt Super Cycle Is Way Overdue – B.B.

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NEW UNCOVERED INFORMATION: Why Central Banks Were Forced To Rig The Gold Market

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Saudi King Goes East In Search Of Friends And Cash. The King of Saudi Arabia is currently on a month-long trip round Asia, aiming to strengthen geopolitical ties as well as secure oil market share

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Minnesota Democrat Pushes $200K in Annual Taxpayer Gifts for Gun Control Groups – H.L.

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SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.

Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government that is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.” – James Madison

Notes for Thursday – March 02, 2017

On March 2nd, 1836, Texas declared its independence from Mexico. Today is coincidentally also the birthday of Sam Houston.

Today is also the birthday of Moe Berg, American baseball player and clandestine agent. (He died in 1972). His biography The Catcher Was a Spy is fascinating reading.

And this is the birthday of libertarian economist Murray Rothbard (born 1926, died 1995). His book For a New Liberty: The Libertarian Manifesto is highly recommended.

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Today, we present another entry for Round 69 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $15,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate that is good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chrome-lined barrel and a hard case to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel, which can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools and a compact carry capability in a hard case or 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. An infrared sensor/imaging camouflage shelter from Snakebite Tactical in Eureka, Montana (A $350+ value),
  6. Gun Mag Warehouse is providing 20 Magpul PMAG 30-rd Magazines (a value of $300) and a Gun Mag Warehouse T-Shirt; (an equivalent prize will be awarded for residents in states with magazine restrictions),
  7. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  8. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  9. Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Second Prize:

  1. A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case (a $2,400 value),
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. A gift certificate for any two or three-day class from Max Velocity Tactical (a $600 value),
  4. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  5. A Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 value),
  6. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  7. A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value),
  8. A selection of canned meats containing a 10 pack of 28oz cans of Premium Beef and a 5 pack of 28oz cans of Premium Pork from Wertz’s Farm Market (a $300 value),
  9. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, and
  10. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Third Prize:

  1. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. A custom made Sage Grouse model utility/field knife from custom knife-maker Jon Kelly Designs, of Eureka, Montana,
  4. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  5. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  6. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  7. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  8. Montie Gear is donating a Y-Shot Slingshot and a $125 Montie gear Gift certificate.,
  9. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value), and
  10. Fifteen LifeStraws from SafeCastle (a $300 value).
  11. A $250 gift certificate to Tober’s Traditions, makers of all natural (organic if possible) personal care products, such as soap, tooth powder, deodorant, sunscreen, lotion, and more.

Round 69 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Preparing for Cyber Warfare- Part 1, by Northwoods Prepper

As a regular follower of this blog, I, and as I imagine most readers, are very familiar with the results of an EMP. This is one of the most discussed topics in the survivalist blogosphere, for good reason. Electricity brings all of us a much easier life, and to prepare for the loss of such is difficult both physically and mentally, not to mention costly. With my electronic devices, those that I continue to use daily, my preparations lie between letting them become paper weights with the effects of an EMP to properly protecting those that are of value and having back-up copies of important documents (electronically and physically). From my understanding of an EMP or a similar event, like a strong solar flare, my limited preparations on this front should protect my key data with some devices reverting to expensively purchased junk.

What I had failed to take into consideration is the breakout of cyber warfare. An overview of the nature of cyber warfare is warranted, although before I start I would like to say my knowledge of such is limited. The majority of my previous knowledge came from corporate cyber attacks. However, I just finished reading Richard Clarke’s 2012 book Cyber War: The Next National Threat and What To Do About It Richard Clarke is the former National Coordinator for Security, Infrastructure Protection, and Counter-terrorism for the United States. Clarke worked for the State Department during the presidency of Ronald Reagan and has a good understanding of this subject. This book is an enlightening read (although politically slanted towards Democrats), and while I wanted to highlight a couple of key points it does not make the leap to the potential impact of the average individual. To summarize, cyber warfare is the directed attack against a nation from one or other nations or other collected rogue groups (such as ISIS or Anonymous). These attacks will take many forms, including denial of services, theft of knowledge, turning off critical infrastructure, and sabotage, but all of it will be the result of technical interference to our extremely wired world. Another good summary I just found yesterday is online.

At this time, the government is frantically trying to keep the genie in the bottle and has regular cyber attack exercises:

While the government is working to protect themselves and critical infrastructure, such as utilities and banking, the average citizen must rely on commercially available security and the Geek Squad at Best Buy. Many of these attacks will not be emanating directly from the foreign enemy but from Trojan programs, such as Logic Bombs, already implanted in domestic computers and similar devices, including all of the ones that we individually own. (Even if you claim to be off grid, you are reading this post somehow on some device.) These programs are implanted through multiple nefarious means from participation in websites, email, and every sort of inter-connectivity to the Internet.

The threat that I found more surprising is the self-destruct programs that may potentially be implanted in devices as well. Many routine household devices– phones, security, and appliances– and automobiles are becoming connected to the Internet. While this allows the usefulness of these devices to be increased, such as the ability to check your home security while out of town or something as simple as preheating your oven on the way home from work, there are also significant security breaches that are very rarely mentioned. Mr. Clarke provides an excellent, and from his understanding a completely feasible, example regarding cyber warfare. Imagine a copier within a company, which is bidding on a job. The copier, through an illegally implanted program using basic recognition software, is sending copies of any document with specific wording referencing the job off-site. At a certain point, those who are stealing the information believe they have enough to sabotage the bid and then send directions to the machine to overheat and start a fire with secondary effects of setting off the sprinkler system or worse.

In my limited dealings with cyber attacks, it is well known that hackers can penetrate and disable equipment from remotely operating someone’s camera to tapping into the electrical grid and other utilities, creating an EMP-like event. It has been also proven that many foreign organizations, most noticeably China, has made a concerted effort on corporate espionage and has been routinely stealing secrets. A good example of this is the Sony hack in 2014, where hackers demanded Sony’s release of the comedy film The Interview because the main plot was to assassinate the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-Un. This hack was a wake-up call to the impact that nation states can have on cyberspace. It is disturbing to say the least.

Another aspect of cyber warfare is hardware modification. In the same book as referenced above, the U.S. intelligence agencies, through a Soviet defector, became aware of a list of sophisticated weapon components that the KGB was looking for. (The names used identify the timeframe.) Instead of preventing the KGB from acquiring the items, the CIA instead worked to funnel them the items on the list but with modifications that would be extremely difficult for anyone to interpret until the item was utilized, whereupon it would malfunction. While this plan was successful for the CIA, it has also become a known espionage tool, and it is impractical to believe that enemies would not utilize this tool or take it to the next level. This is relatively easy to do when some of the silicon chips today are imprinted with minute details. It is no secret that the majority of our commercial hardware, whether directed towards private citizens or government agents, is procured through China. While some may dismiss the potential change to every computer, only one change has to be made downstream and all computers are modified. It is more difficult to determine detrimental designs when they all look the same and work.

Additionally, in June of 2016, the U.S. government gave up authority over IANA (International Assigned Naming Authority) to a private company ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) without a great deal of fanfare from the media. Senator Ted Cruz opposed this transfer and as part of his press released suggested the plan would “allow 160 foreign governments to have increased influence over the management and operation of the Internet.” This was done by the Obama administration after a known hacking penetration of his presidential campaign by China. In September of 2016, this letter provided by the Free Beacon identifies the concerns of key intelligence officers in Washington regarding this transfer.

Walking through these various examples, it is not difficult to take a small leap and in the event of a hostile or open war with a foreign country, we could find those tools that we rely upon for information– our computers and televisions– to be interfered with, creating and replicating malware, and in a worst case scenario starting on fire or causing surges to the power grid. If it is possible to create a program that can wipe out your system or cause a fire, which I believe it is, why wouldn’t hostile governments try to implant into every device globally and activate as necessary. My own devices have software that detects virus and bugs on a regular basis. Larger corporations have hundreds to thousands of breeches on a weekly basis.

This has radically changed my thought process on electronic devices. Think of a government designing super weapons. A Chinese intelligent agent devises a plan that utilizes America’s weaknesses (dependency on television for information and foreign manufacturing of such devices) that would be fully activated in any emergency situation to propagate and disseminate attacks on government and primary civilian targets with a final blow to disable the device itself and hopefully creating secondary damages and further straining an already strained system. All of this could be accomplished at a fraction of the cost of a nuclear device but be significantly more devastating without poisoning the ocean or your atmosphere with a radioactive cloud. It would also have a crippling effect on communications and morale. It sounds like a game changer for any war. Any device that connects to the Internet, whether it is your smart phone, computer, or refrigerator, at some level must be considered compromised. It can be utilized for false propaganda, and it is not difficult to imagine all of our devices turning on at the same time and having communist-friendly, Hollywood bimbo share with us the advantages of cooperation and the benefit of the People’s Republic. It can be used as a surveillance device, utilizing recording and locating technology; however, even something without these recording and locating capabilities can still infer data. A television that is connected without any other technology can identify if you are watching something (i.e. somebody is there), that you still have power, and what you are watching. Finally, it can be utilized as a weapon, either propagating programs that are affecting someone else’s computers or potentially cause issues of their own.

So, I started this article discussing EMP; many of you are probably wondering why, at this point, as it has no reference to EMPs at all. A devastating cyber attack could result in an EMP scenario in two ways. First, the attack ultimately disables the grid, resulting in a power outage, or the attack is so disabling that the government mandates the temporary shutdown of the grid. Many of our preparations for an EMP, such as alternative communications, physical documents vs. electronic, protected devices, et cetera are equally useful for a cyber attack as well, and while some may need to be reviewed we can instead focus on preparations specifically designed around cyber attacks. In addition to an EMP thought process, a cyber attack may leave the grid operating but in a weakened state. It would be anticipated that certain functions will be targeted, such as government, banking, media, and logistics– all of which are very dependent upon cyberspace. The general motto of this site to be prepared should help insulate you and your family.