Preparedness Notes for Thursday – August 24, 2017

On August 24th, 410, Rome was overrun by the Visigoths in an event that symbolized the fall of the Western Roman Empire. This is a moment in history that we would do well to remember. An empire that ruled the known world was corrupted from the inside to the point that they could not defend themselves from a much weaker enemy. This could conceivably be the beginning of the dark middle ages.

Survival To Go, Revisited- Part 1, by JMD

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Several years ago, I was fortunate to be able to share my experiences and recommendations on being prepared while traveling on SurvivalBlog (Survival To Go Part 1 and Part 2). However, as most of us know, being prepared is never a “one and done” situation. You have to constantly reassess the threats and risks you face. Adjust your preparations, approaches, and skills to stay aligned with your current situation. The goal of this article is to share how my approach to travel preparedness has adapted in the last three years. I based my approach  on how my personal situation and travel conditions have changed.

Significant Changes

Let’s start with what significant changes have occurred:

  • Travel in general, and air travel in particular, has become much more dangerous. Between airport bombings (Brussels, Paris, Istanbul), airport shootings (Florida, Paris), airport stabbings (Flint), airport facility disasters (Paris, Netherlands, Hong Kong), and too many airplane accidents to list, the chance of being seriously injured while traveling has increased significantly. This doesn’t even take into account terrorist attacks, shootings, accidents, riots, and disasters while you’re at your destination.
  • I’m getting older, and my back is having a harder time carrying a 28 pound backpack through the airport.
  • I kept accumulating more stuff in my travel backpack. It was getting harder to find something when I needed it, especially in emergencies.
  • I did a review of what was in my backpack. I found there were a number of items that I hadn’t used in a long time.
  • My company made me replace my personal laptop with a company-issued one. I now have no problem putting it in my checked bag.  I also realized that I pretty much never open my laptop on flights anymore anyway. There just isn’t enough leg room.

Continue reading“Survival To Go, Revisited- Part 1, by JMD”

Letter Re: Batteries and Chargers

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HJL,

If rechargeable batteries aren’t charged regularly then they are useless during emergency. I keep about 2-3 dozens of AA and AAA in a battery organizer and rotate them. To rotate them, I use battery powered LED strips in bathrooms and in closets. I do that to save energy and to practice blackout situation. For gadgets that run on C or D cells, I use a 2 AA converter case. I have them on my 3D maglite and Coleman lantern and they work great.

For chargers, I use Nitecore brand that has different charging current and 12V car adapter. I try not to use quick charge mode because it tends to heat up batteries and that shortens the life. I also own an USB charger just in case power goes down and I can hook up a portable solar panel if needed. – P.L.

Letter Re: See Rescue

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Hugh,

I have one of the See-Rescue devices when I use my kayak in Hawaii. If you are blown out to sea, this may be the only way an aircraft can find you. It also works on land. Great safety system and easy to carry. – M.G.

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

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SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “HJL”. The public schools are making headlines again with their outrageous and immoral teachings. (And we are not talking about the latest fad of married female teachers having affairs with underage students here. Those incidents seem to be making daily headlines lately)

Cannibals!

Do you know who your neighbors are? One South African community is reeling after one man walked into the police station holding body parts and confessing to cannibalism with the statement “I’m tired of eating humans”. He was apparently part of a four man ring who would kill, cut up and serve the body parts. Through the course of the investigation, over 300 residents have confessed to knowing of the cannibalism and participating in it when they visited the man. There are allegations that the crime may be much larger as well. Thanks to W.W. for the link.

No Guilty Verdicts in Bundy Ranch Standoff Trial

Despite the defense having their hands tied while the government is under no such restrictions, there were no guilty verdicts returned by the Jury this week in the trials. some of the counts reached “not guilty” verdicts and the jury was deadlocked on the remaining counts. Judge Navaro has denied the defendants their rights to use the First and Second amendments in the trial and has stopped at least one of the defendants mid-testimony because obscure references to these fundamental rights. The judge is obviously working to avoid jury nullification. Thanks to B.B. for the link.

Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:”

How I Stopped Worrying and Used P.M.C.T.- Part 2, by D.D.

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Yesterday, I shared my background and how I retreated to my retreat cabin for 83 days.  I reemerged a changed person, maturing from “Doom Prepper” to someone with a greater appreciation for life and nature. I made some changes to accommodate my family and life situation. Still, I found contentment in living what would I would have considered a certain death trap years earlier. How did I do it?

My Answer: P.M.C.T.

P.M.C.T. stands for Prayer, Mindset, Confidence, and Training

Prayer

Without faith in something you are truly lost. Whether it is God, peace, humanity, or puppy dogs, you must find something positive and uplifting to motivate you. I allowed myself to be consumed in a sea of negativity and impending doom. Only by surrounding myself in the miracle of God’s glory in the woods was I able to swim out of the riptide that tried to drown me. I get it. The world is a miserable place full of liars, cheats, and psychopaths. It always has been. Rise above it and make your world a better place for you and your family. After all, that’s why we prep.

Mindset

One of the first things I did to rebuild on a solid foundation of prepping was to research actual collapse events. Not the fantasy, fiction, and hypotheticals but actual accounts of survival. There are countless stories of real people who have survived the terror of societal breakdowns due to economic collapse, war, famine, and genocide. They prove some things we already know, like the importance of toilet paper, stored food, weapons, and barter, but these stories also disprove some of the most common misconceptions that run rampant in Internet forums and some post-apocalyptic fiction novels. The story of “Ferfal” during the collapse of Argentina in the 90’s, Sarajevo under siege from snipers, and Venezuela today are just a few of the real-life survival stories we can learn from to improve our strategy and mindset.

Continue reading“How I Stopped Worrying and Used P.M.C.T.- Part 2, by D.D.”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

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Here are the latest items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on how to avoid Auction Fever. (See the Tangibles section, near the end of this column.)  Today’s column is terse, since JWR is traveling to view the eclipse.

 

Precious Metals:

The 46-Year Record of Platinum-Gold Ratios

Stocks:

Ron Paul: 50% stock market plunge ‘conceivable,’ but it’s not President Trump’s fault

 

Commodities:

Next, over at OilPrice.com: The Strategic Petroleum Reserve Is Slowly Dying

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I missed this when it was posted back in April: 2020s To Be A Decade of Disorder For Oil

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JWR’s Recommendations of the Week

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Here are JWR’s Recommendations of the Week for various media and tools of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. This week’s focus is on thermal night vision monoculars. (See the Gear section, near the end of this column.)

Books:

How Not To Be Hacked: The Definitive Guide for Regular People

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Nuts! A 101st Airborne Division Machine Gunner at Bastogne

Music:

Silly Wizard: Wild & Beautiful

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Preparedness Notes for Tuesday – August 22, 2017

August 22nd, 1992 was the second day of the Incident at Ruby Ridge. FBI sharpshooter Lon Horiuchi wounded Randy Weaver, Kevin Harrison and murdered Weaver’s wife, Vicki. It should be noted that in 1994, after being acquitted by a federal court, Weaver filed a federal civil rights case against the FBI and U.S. marshals stemming from the siege. In 1995 the government settled Weaver’s case for $3.1 million. It is commonly thought that had the Weaver family stayed with the trial, the award would have been the full $200 million. In true FBI style, Lon Horiuchi was not prosecuted by the Federal government. When Idaho brought manslaughter charges against him, the trial was moved to Federal court and dismissed. Horiuchi has also been accused of firing unauthorized shots at the Waco siege as well.

How I Stopped Worrying and Used P.M.C.T.- Part 1, by D.D.

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With the apparent imminent collapse that I have focused upon in my years of preparedness, I was worrying. My focus became a frantic effort. I made plans. Yet, wisdom came with P.M.C.T.

“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”-Proverbs 16:9

“Man plans and God laughs…” -old Yiddish adage

The Tenth Man Theory

In the 2013 zombie apocalypse movie World War Z the hero has a conversation with an Israeli Mossad agent about the Tenth Man Theory. It states (and I paraphrase) that in the midst of military planning, if nine people agree on a particular strategy or belief, the tenth man is duty-bound to disagree. The rationale behind this is to bring to light problems or other factors that sometimes the majority does not want to acknowledge or is blinded to due to a group-think/herd mentality. I have become my own 10th man, questioning and rethinking my entire strategy of preparedness.

I found it necessary to become my own “devil’s advocate” to prevent my emotional commitment to preparing from completely blinding me to what may become inconvenient realities. There were three realities I needed to see. First, what I was preparing for may happen completely different from what I had envisioned; second, I had to be more mentally prepared, no matter the circumstances; third, what I was preparing for may not happen at all.

Continue reading“How I Stopped Worrying and Used P.M.C.T.- Part 1, by D.D.”

SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

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Here is SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt. This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. We also mention companies of interest to preppers that are located in the region. The emphasis this week is on Gemini Technologies–the makers of Gemtech supressors.

Idaho (Gemtech)

First off, the announcement of S&Ws buy-out of Gemini Technologies was made in July. They are best known for their great Gemtech suppressors. Since then, the transition has reportedly gone smoothly.  The employees will also continue to work in Idaho. They will be in a new building in the small town of Meridian.  S&W was thrilled to gain Doc Dater’s very clever patents. And of course they’re also inheriting the company’s very loyal customer base. They have no  plans to move Gemini’s operations.  This acquisition leave S&W well-positioned. Why?  What if the Hearing Protection Acts gets through Congress. Yee-haw!

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Reader Bruce F. spotted this article: CCI Opens New .22 Rimfire Production Facility in Idaho. That should help relieve part of the chronic shortage!

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After months of hype, Northwest braces for solar eclipse

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The Redoubt News web site reports: Refugee Resettlement in Sandpoint? … meeting goes Awry but exposes intent. (Thanks to Greg B. for the link.)

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