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”.
Free Speech
the Federal Election Commission recently held two days of hearings on proposed Internet regulations. At issues is the supposed Russian interference in the U.S. election that supposedly cost Hillary the election. The whole process is being driven by democrats who just can’t seem to come to terms with the fact that Hillary was an immensely unpopular candidate. The claim is that Russia bought advertising on Facebook that swung the election in favor of Trump. Of course when you look at the actual data, they only spent about $10,000 on 3500 Facebook ads and only about 100 of those were actually political in nature. If you actually look at those, you’d laugh your head off thinking that anyone could be swayed by such childish ads. I guess facts just don’t matter when it comes to Hillary or Trump in the Democrats minds. Thanks to P.S. for the link.
Survival of the Rich
Reader S.B. sent in this article on how the rich are preparing for survival. This is a personal account of a speaker who was paid a relatively ridiculous fee to advise a group on how to prepare for the coming crises. the speaker expected to stand in front of a largish group, but it turned out to be just a few rich men asking their own questions. their greatest concern was how to hire people to protect their “stuff” and not have those people turn on them. Interestingly enough, it would appear that not one of the participants in this meeting could understand the concept of treating others fairly to generate loyalty. It was all about force. I guess they are just unfamiliar with the concept of “community”
“Totally Reasonable” Gun Control
Virginia Beach Police Chief Jim Cervera has a strange concept of “totally reasonable.”. According to this oathkeepers article sent in by reader DSV, he believes that these three things should be enacted by Congress:
- Adopt a Universal Background Check for all gun sales and transfers;
- Expand screening for prohibited buyers to include persons with violent mental health history;
- Seek “Red Flag” measures to prevent guns from reaching persons who threaten violence and murder;
- and Urge legislation that permits court orders barring gun purchases in domestic violence cases
In other words, end private sales, erode due process and impose prior restraints. Really, how do these guys get elected?
DNA Testing Children
Both the U.S. and the U.K. are now incorporating DNA testing into their migrant testing. Authorities claim that this will speed up the process in which the children who are separated from their families can be returned to them at the borders. The primary purpose is to combat the rise in child trafficking that authorities are seeing in people who are crossing the border illegally. Both countries have expressed frustration at the courts for forcing an unrealistic deadline on the completion of their vetting illegals. thanks to H.L. for the link.
Moped Crime Soars
London is seeing a sharp rise in crimes committed while the assailant uses a moped. I can see why the criminal would choose such a method as it it allows him/her to get close to the victim without arousing suspicion and then speed off quickly, before anyone can react. However, this is london we are talking about here – where kitchen knives can’t be sold with a point on them because they are just too dangerous. They’ve banned guns, They’ve banned knives. We are wondering if they will now ban mopeds since they like to ban tools rather than people?
Car Jacking Foiled
Reader T.J. sent this article in about a mom who foiled a car jacking. Apparently, the woman had two children in the car when she exited the car to pay for gas at a filling station. The would be attacker jumped in her SUV and attempted to take it at that point. The woman then jumped in the passenger side of the car and demanded that he exit the car. He refused and as he started to drive away, she reached in the glove box, pulled a firearm and shot him in the head. good for her. The only two things I see wrong with this is that she didn’t have the gun on her and that the attacker survived. She said that she tried to fire a warning shot and accidentally shot him in the head. She should have aimed and ended it.
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Please send your news tips to HJL. (Either via e-mail of via our Contact form.) These are often especially relevant, because they come from folks who watch news that is important to them. Due to their diligence and focus, we benefit from fresh “on target” news. We often “get the scoop” on news that is most likely ignored (or reported late) by mainstream American news outlets. Thanks!
I have a relative who spent a year in England. She told me that you can’t get scissors that will cut there either. That was frustrating to her because she is an artist who cuts a lot of paper for her artwork
In response to the “Survival of the Rich” article…This was a good article. For the most part, the author did a nice job of hitting all the points of what “survival” has become. It was comforting to see whomever made the Sblog overview and posted the article on Sblog, the way they emphasized the importance of community over the bunker mentality. However, it becomes interesting to question what community means. Our community? How is that defined? Their community? How is that defined?
It was also interesting to see in the article the discussion of technology (what does that mean?) along with the inference that climate change is what is REALLY going to bring about “the event”. I assume many of you on here do not think climate change is real, some of you may. The debate about climate change is political in the US, but is post-political in all non-US places. At this point, I am not sure that defining which “event” is more important to who, why, and how that event has relationships to our political views. What becomes interesting to question is, how and why there is an “event” for all political views which all have the same outcomes…And, what do those outcomes look like and what are their relationships to obtaining resources? Good article.
I am glad the woman’s situation ended as well as it did for her. In spite of her stated intent, and the continued life of the perp, this was a win. She had a gun, she used it, and the situation was defused. Her kids are safe. Not everyone is mentally prepared or even able to take a life. This will never change. However, this does not necessarily mean these people should remain unarmed snd in herbivore mode at all times. Just because a person does not have the extended teeth and claws of a trained guard dog does not mean they should plan to accept being devoured without a fight. Sure, having a gun without the willingness to use it to kill can go bad for a person, and does. But it more often defuses a situation, which is a win for the grazer involved as well as society at large.
I find these stories inspiring in a way, much as I enjoy seeing a predator foiled in nature by a grazer that decides to fight rather than run.
It’s bad enough she left the kids in the car, but leaving it unlocked, and apparently with the key in the ignition, is idiotic.
I don’t have munchkins at home anymore, but still lock my vehicle when going in to pre-pay for gas.
Of course, I’m always armed, as well.
I don’t go in to pay. Period. I pay at the pump. If the pump won’t accept that, I go elsewhere. I will not be caught in the middle of some two bit punk’s attempt to monetize a trip to the local stop n rob. I am also always armed. My teeth and claws are both long and sharp.
90% or more of my fellow citizens, however, are what I call grazers. They are the roe deer who go around with their head down in the grass, never considering the approach of the leopard. This is the way it has always been, and it is unlikely to change. I see people all the time who make me think, if they ever run across a real predator, they will die without ever knowing what hit them. They do it in traffic all the time when things do not go as planned. A malevolent, purposeful threat rolls them in the blink pf an eye, and they are a quick snack, nothing more.
That said, when one of them kicks the eye out of the leopard and escapes tragedy, I do chuckle, and feel like something good happened. A bad guy getting his comeuppance, even from a conditoon white grazing idiot, is a good thing. It is indeed a shame he lived. Perhaps infection will set in and finish the job, or his wound will end any future viability of his criminal tendencies. Regardless, the woman is alive, she has her children with her, and is likely to now become a much more switched on and careful mother. A lot of good things happened in spite of her egregious mistakes.
You have to remember. Some of us who have lived “interesting” lives see the world around us through a totslly different lens than a lot of others. How many adults today have never been in a fistfight, much less any episode where weapons were presented? How many have never had one single negative experience forced upon them by another human? How many lived a happy and sheltered childhood, and have thus far lived a happy and carefree adulthood? I will wager it is a lot, given the things I see daily. We need to be careful about sitting in judgement on people who, although ey made mistakes, did what they could when the chips were down, and saved themselves and/or others in the process. In spite of what they missed that got them into the situation, and in spite of their inexperienced handling of it, lives are saved and criminals are thwarted. When this happens we can simply thank Providence, and hope the person learns what they need to from the experience.
We can wish the perp would have targeted us, too, if we wish. I know I did that a few years ago when a tattoo-faced reprobate convict murdered a nice old couple a few miles from my home. He was in their yard when they came home, forced them into the house, robbed them, killed them, raped the old woman’s dead body, and then attempted to burn the house. Had he been in my drive instead, he would have been no further burden to society and that nice old couple would hsve had more time to enjoy their family. So I wished he had come to my yard instead. I know grazers get rolled by predators, but I don’t have to like it.
Really, how do these guys get elected?
The NRA supports all of these objectives and donates and A rates these people. That’s one way they get elected. When will the NRA actively seek the immediate and total repeal of all gun laws in the US? Never. The NRA is the worlds largest Gun Control Inc.
Car Jacking
I’m very happy that the woman’s children are ok. Never fire a warning shot or shoot to wound. End the threat. Period.
The NRA rates pro-gun-control candidates with a D or an F. That’s historical fact.
What federal gun-control law has ever been repealed by the lobbying of any pro-gun organization? For that matter, what federal law has ever been repealed?
The Brady Bill? Or did it die of old age?
The Virginia Beach police chief(appointed,not elected,Sheriffs are elected) and all his men need to be psychologicaly tested for violent tendencies then disarmed as dangers to the public.
DesertRat, your attention is invited to the passing of the 21st Amendment on Dec. 5, 1933, that repealed the 18th Amendment in 1919, regarding alcohol. I have no faith in the NRA whatsoever. Any organization, like the Federal Govt. that ignores and runs roughshod over the wishes of it’s members (FedGov or the NRA, take your pick) deserves any support. The reason the NRA is ineffective as a pro-gun organization is that they are an anti-gun organization. They’re just milking that cash cow for all it’s worth until total gun control is reached by FedGov. If the NRA was an EFFECTIVE pro-gun organization, explain why they submitted several briefs to the USSOC, asking that they didn’t wish Heller to be brought before the court. The NRA is not only ineffective when it comes to civil rights, it is a wolf in sheeps clothing.
I say again; when will the NRA actively seek the immediate and total repeal of all gun laws in the US?
Fred, the answer is NEVER! Read Sean’s comment, that’s the truth of the matter.
Lived in VB for nearly 10 years prior to finally getting away. It used to be mostly Red, until there came a massive push for regional government (VB is surrounded by 6 other cities, and of those 6, 4 (Hampton, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Newport News) were quite urban and liberal, 1 was moderate (Chesapeake), and one was quite rural and conservative (Suffolk). I despise the place now. I still own a rental property in VB, and the greatest drudge of my life is the yearly trek back to that place to handle turn maintenance.
The thing about the moped crime, just like any other crime in “Great” Britain, is that if you fight back, you are the one who will be arrested.
car jacking– I happy that her kids are okay, but she didn’t lock her doors. Whenever I get gas / fuel, and have to leave the vechicle, I lock my doors all the time. My wife used to call me paranoid when I would lock the doors on my house at night and then check them again, sometimes two, three times in an evening. And yes, on occasion I would find a lock that I had forgotten or missed when locking up for the night. Maybe I am paranoid to a certain extent, Hmmm
Warning shots are for chumps, and I seriously doubt her shot was a “warning”. She just missed, and now she will likely have to face that perp in court when he sues her for his injuries. Dead Perps don’t file lawsuits, and they don’t drag you into a courtroom for defending your family. If the threat is serious enough to use a gun you absolutely MUST finish the job. Period.
The VA Beach Chief is selected not elected. That’s how the get there.
Kristian Gillibrand, Democrat Senator from NY was A+ rated by the NRA and votes for every gun control bill that gets filed. The May 2010 issue of the American Rifleman endorsed Harry Reid from Nevada. The NRA is trying to take your guns.
Duane, you are a bit behind times. The NRA changed Gillibrand’s score from A to F in 2010 after she moved from the House to the Senate and began voting against the Second Amendment.
Yes, but how much $$$ did Gillibreath give to the NRA Coffers to allow her to weasel around and start stabbing? NRA new full well her intent.
Had it not been for the NRA in 1967/1968, there would be no handguns. Long guns would be limited to shotguns, bolt action and lever action rifles. “Old” Senator Dodd and his followers were very nearly all-powerful. The NRA lobbied enough House votes to limit the efforts at “take ’em all” to what we know as GCA ’68.
Dodd’s ideas included a central armory where you could store your long guns.
I began my fruitless efforts against ridiculous gun control idiocy in 1966. Maybe I’ve helped in the CHL effort; I don’t know. Many a frustrating year; nay, decade.
The Russians did far more then buy a few Facebook ads. They actively tried to influence our election.
Putin is a scoundrel . Old KGB mentality. If Obama had treated him with the diffidence that Trump has, the Republicans would be calling him a traitor .
“Dead perps don’t file lawsuits”
It’s their families that file them, all the time.
I hope if the previous poster ever lets all the air out of someone that his post here isn’t discovered. Explaining the entire post to a jury would be real difficult.
We occasionally see calls to repeal all federal gun laws. How about felons using guns in the commission of a crime? That’s a federal law. Want to eliminate that ? Want to make it legal for a fugitive from justice to buy a firearm .
Read “Disinformation” by the highest-ranking Soviet bloc intelligence official ever to defect to the West, Lt. Gen. Ion Mihai Pacepa. Republicans were tough on Russia, until Trump was elected. There are no principles, only party.
@Phil
You mean tough on Russia like this?: Obama’s open mic moment with Russia
Note: I’m not a Trump fan, but disinformation comes in all sorts and sizes.
Principles are not relative. The act of a Republican is not wrong or right because of a slightly better or worse action by a Democrat. It is possible to criticize one party without invoking the other.
OK. Then you mean tough on Russia like Bush was during the Russian-Georgian war? Just because it’s the favorite way to kick Trump these days doesn’t mean it was any different under any previous president. It’s easy to claim to be tough when you’re not the one actually making the call. While I’m no fan of Trump as a person, he has governed more conservatively (despite his rhetoric) than any previous president in my memory (including President Reagan). All you’re doing in that comment about Trump not being tough on Russia is repeating Democratic propaganda.