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Tuesday July 31 2007

Retreat Owner Profile: Mr. Uniform

Present Home: 63 year old brick veneer over weather board farmhouse (1,300 square feet) built by my father. 25 acres, consisting of 3.5 acres of pine, 9 acres of old growth hardwoods, 1.5 acres of apple, pear, pecan, grape, muscudine, and scuppernong orchard/grove/vineyard. Additional 900 square foot house, 100 year barn (30'x30' with loft and sheds), outdoor privy, detached 24'x24' garage building, 140 square foot storage building, dog house/lot, hog house lot (not used at present). Approximately three acres in farmstead buildings, drives, and gardens. Balance of land in open arable land presently used by neighbor as native grass hay field. All but the very front of house is inside a fence. Yard and road frontage is behind a five foot chain link or five foot wood picket fence. Remainder of property line is behind an old five-strand barbed wire fence (needs upgrading). Property is in northwest portion of South Carolina. Family has lived in area for over 500 years (Cherokee portion), most of the remainder for more than 200 years. Family on two sides and long term (over 80 years) family friends on two sides. House fronts on a small farm to market road but backs to a heavily traveled Interstate. Attend a small Baptist Church that ancestors helped to found 204 years ago (veterans of Revolutionary War). Property has two hand dug wells near headwaters of creek. Presently use public water, but both wells are usable by hand drawing with a windless. Water is free of contaminants per test. Presently plant garden from heirloom seeds and co-operate with neighbors and family in trade.

Ages: Mr Uniform: 47 His widowed mother: 82

Annual Income: Gross $86,000, Net $43,000

Occupations: Government employee. Mother is a retired widowed homemaker and cancer survivor.

Hobbies/Avocation: Hunt, Fish, Camp, volunteer fireman (Board Member and Arson Investigator), Volunteer Advanced State Constable (Police Officer), trained medical First Responder.
Investments: Gold and silver coin including ‘junk’ silver, copper coin, Thrift Board (similar to 401k). Some open note debt due to family sicknesses and deaths.

Vehicles: 1968 Chevy pickup, two Cadillacs (one built in 1980s, the other in the late1990s), 1998 Ford F150 4WD Pickup, 1957 Ford Tractor (34 h.p. gas) with crop implements and some mule implements. Keep all vehicles fueled and serviced.

Fuel Storage: 500 gallons propane for cooking and furnace. 15 gallons of K-1 kerosene for lamps, lanterns, and back-up heat. 25 gallons of 4 cycle gas. 2.5 gallons of 2 cycle gas. Two wood heaters in storage in barn. Plan: to cut and rack wood in a shed to be built. Plan on buying wood cook stove in future and put in storage. All wood heat was removed from house in 1985 due to Father’s health. Also to put in at least 1000 gallon gas tank and fuel oil tank. Also, a kerosene tank in 500 to 1000 gallon range. Probably in a ventilated shed instead of underground due to water table in the defensible zone.

Livestock: One collie at moment, used for guard/watch dog. Hope to add small livestock within a year (one species at a time). Beef cattle on one neighbor’s place. Dairy within 3 miles (high school class mate). Hogs on two neighbors farms within two miles and chickens close.

Communications: Land line with DSL hook up. Cell phones. Two privately owned walkie-talkies programmed for direct communication with local law enforcement, fire, and EMS. One pair of FRS radios. One small programmable scanner, one CB transceiver, one shortwave receiver. Want to add field phone capability.
Food and supply storage: 9 months to a year on most everything from food to toothpaste. We employ the method of :"use one and buy three."

Mail service: Rural route delivery for some things, P.O. Box in neighboring village for others, while package delivery generally goes to one of the offices that I work out of.

Shortcomings: Too close to interstate highway though county is almost an island with lakes, control points could be manned at all of the bridges entering county and control much of the flow of traffic. Patrol the Interstate Highway corridor to keep unauthorized exit from the Interstate. Also, patrol the lake shore for unwanted landings. 100 miles from Atlanta, 50 miles from Greenville, 150 miles from Charlotte. All too close. Not enough food and supplies, I think 3 years should be on hand and rotated. Not enough ammo. Inadequate fuel supply, and no alternative source of electricity yet. Nuclear plant nearby.

Taxes: Moderate and rising due to refugees from northeast moving into lake developments and demanding more county services. Many of these will be first to go down in a long term grid down situation

Armory: Fire rated safe with S&G. Adequate with a mixture of heavy battle and hunting rifles, medium battle and hunting rifles, and light battle and hunting rifles, and .22 rimfire. Same with shotguns, and pistols. Somewhat of the Mel Tappan philosophy. Good supply of spare magazines. Have had very good tactical and firearms training from law enforcement, SAR, IDPA, and SASS. Two ballistic vests and several non ballistic tactical vests. Next door neighbor similarly armed and prepared. Sister (40+ acres) and cousins (1 to 10 acres each) (within 3 miles) are more armed for personal protection and hunting than tactical. I go armed from rising to bed. Also carry a minimum kit in vehicle: one .40 cal with rig, one carbine, ammo, water, clothes, meds, MREs. I travel an average of 800 miles per week on job. I average 13 hour days, 5 days per week, plus 12 hours per week law enforcement volunteer, three hours per week average for VFD. This is to help me get home. Need some NVGs. Have motion sensors. Placing more. Have more fencing in storage.

Other People Joining Us: Cousins from metro Atlanta area, former naval IT electronics person and shipboard security team leader. Maybe one cousin from Hart County, Georgia who lives alone and in late 60s. He grows the grain and has a saw mill. He is former army signal corps telephone. I have married sister, married niece, and several married cousins within area. If ones property becomes compromised, we will double up.

Affiliations: Active in Church (Bible Study Teacher, Church Clerk, and Deacon). Past Master in local [Masonic] Lodge.

Education: BS in Ag Ed, Masters in Agricultural Education, many semester hours over Masters in Administration and Supervision, 50 quarter hours in Criminal Justice. Former high school ag teacher and animal science professor in a Jr. College.

Area: Local fire district (all volunteer) is 25 square miles with a permanent population of about 2,500. Two private church schools, five churches, one truck stop, four country stores and locally owned building supply store, Medical Clinic with two Doctors, Pharmacist, and Nurses. Local fire department forms the basis of local Civil Defense. 24 out of 26 members are armed. Two Unarmed: One is a local Doctor and Army veteran (Bosnian Call-Up) and the other is a CPA. Adjoining fire districts are similar. I am covered under Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs).

Safety Act for firearms carrying. Most of the fire department have South Carolina and New Hampshire carry permits with [reciprocity] coverage in several states. Civil Defense plans are in place to secure the interstate in an emergency. Overall, community, including elderly widows, is well armed, just not tactical. Has at least 14 present and former LEOs within five miles, one is the County Sheriff who belongs to same Lodge and is active in an adjoining Baptist Church. Both local sheriffs’ offices are upgrading their tactical capabilities with a full auto .223 in each patrol car. I am working with the new chief at the largest town in my county trying to convince him to upgrade to individually assigned patrol cars, preferable take home, and patrol rifles.

JWR's Comments/Recommendations: Given your proximity to the interstate freeway, you should definitely plan on having at least three families to man your retreat. With any less than that, you won't have the manpower to maintain 24/7 security for an extended period of time. Stock up on plenty of ammo, defensive (concertina) wire, and night vision gear, for a "worst case" situation.

In a follow-up e-mail, Mr. Uniform added this commentary:

I would like to comment on preparedness as a mindset and as a way of life instead of just acquisition of things. I pondered this over the weekend as I ate various meals. At breakfast, I ate grits and eggs and sausage. The grits were from corn I grew and ground on a cousin's mill. He received a toll for the grinding. I traded extra grits and cornmeal (which he also ground) for the eggs and sausage. At noon, we sat down to dinner and enjoyed fresh ham and several vegetables. All the vegetables were grown either in my garden or my sister's garden. The ham came from a feral shoat that became a nuisance in the garden. Supper was similar. For dessert, we had fresh fig preserves. The figs came from a fig bush/tree that my grandfather had planted. He died in 1946 at age 83. We grow a lot of what we eat and eat what we grow. It is not just about saving money, it is more about living healthy and being self sufficient. Being able to open the store room or pantry and see a year's worth of provisions is comforting during troubling times. As well, it is nice to know that one has the means and capability to protect and defend ones family, friends, and home. But simply a year's capability is not enough for severe times.

In the past, my family went through roughly ten years of what is now called the French and Indian War, about seven years of the Revolutionary War, four years of the War of Northern Aggression then accompanied by 12 years of armed occupation by Union troops. It took another 100 years to somewhat recover economically. I believe that we need to prepare for a long term situation such as that. Also, plan on having property tax money saved back for multiple years in as many different currencies (paper, gold, silver) as possible. The Depression lasted for about 13 years. Now to address how do individuals practice living the lifestyle when not at a retreat. If you can grow flowers, you can grow vegetables. This will give [you] practice. In some cases, you can rent small tracts of garden space from landowners near the city's edge. I know of one case where a city family made a trade with an elderly widow lady in my community. They work a three acre garden and three acre mixed orchard/vineyard. For rent, they share the produce with the lady and keep her yard cut. A good symbiotic relationship.

Take classes in Emergency Medicine, Fire Suppression, and the Martial Arms (Rifle, Pistol, and Shotgun in target and tactical). Maybe even volunteer as a fireman, EMT, or [Sheriff's] deputy. Learn to do many things: weld, wire, carpentry, masonry, etc. Learn to be the needed member of the community. Live in the community as much as possible, create a sense of belonging. Create a healthy lifestyle. Get rid of addictions, get health problems under control, build a network of friends and acquiesces. Most importantly, get right Spiritually. In troubling times, there is an inexhaustible supply of help from the Heavenly Father through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Become part of a local church congregation. Be the one to be ready to help the elderly, widows, and orphans in your church. Just some thoughts, - Mr. Uniform

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Monday May 21 2007

Reader Poll Results: Your TEOTWAWKI Resume -- 100 Words and 100 Pounds

Some of these stretched the 100 word limit. (I skipped posting one that rambled on far beyond the limit.) The poll's premise in a nutshell: "If someday you went to the gates of a survival community post-TEOTWAWKI and pleaded the case for why you should be let past the barricades and armed guards to become a valuable working member of the group, would you get voted in? Taken objectively, would you vote yourself in?"

I am a shoe maker (not just a repairman) can repair saddles tan leather have done ranch work mechanics weld gardening skills set a broken bone stitch up a bad wound can bake bread etc, shooting skills need work only 5.5 MOA on AQT. Can milk a cow make butter some basic carpentry skills can use a wood lave make one if needed to know how to set up wind / water power to a shop or mill make some one laugh when things are bad can teach can also learn.know how to adapt over come make things work specialization is for insects.
Some limits to work: mild back problems cannot do a lot of over head work.
1 CETME rifle with 12 mags, ALICE pack, compressed MREs, 1 folding shovel camo nylon rope water filtering canteen extra canteen freeze dried canned soup 1 empty
small can rubbing alcohol cotton balls (cheap cook stove) 1 cooking kit 1 med kit 1 multi tool 1 roll toilet paper 1 wash cloth 2 tooth brushes tooth paste 1 belt with bayonet for CETME one pocket knife canteen & pouch cleaning kit for rifle and butt pack 2 mag pouches fishing line and hooks matches 4 Bic lighters 1 Iver Johnson 5 shot .38 S&W revolver 36 rounds of ammo, Flecktarn camo pants and shirt vest 1 light weight sleeping bag wool socks and a spare pair sturdy boots, Carthart coat tan 1 pocket size bible etc,,

--

Many years' experience in:
Primitive Skills:
*edible and medicinal native plants
*cordage and rope making
*hide tanning
*bow and arrow making
*bow hunting
Contemporary Skills:
*organic gardener
*orchard (fruit and olive)
*beekeeper
*firearms use
Mid-50's, good shape for age, 6'4", 225#. Wife, mid 50's, 5'10", 150# (who shares many of the above skills, plus expert at canning/freezing, quilting, tatting, making clothes and moccasins).
Both have a sense of humor and aren't afraid to work.
In packs, besides personal gear:
*heirloom seeds
*needles
*lighters
Carrying:
*one .308 MBR, one .223, with magazines and ammo
*two .45 Governments

--

Age 25, weight 160, excellent health, single. Engineer, engine mechanic, builder, jack of all trades. Trained and competitive marksman. Skilled teacher. Tolerant, thick skinned, sense of humor. Introvert, not loner. Schooled in college, educated in real life. History buff and cook.
Competent with photovoltaics, backhoes, generators, concrete, gardens, propane systems, AC and DC electricity, firearms, computers, welding.
Most importantly: not a prima donna, armchair commando, or busybody.
Equipment includes rifle, pistol, small amount of ammo, soft body armor and binoculars.

--

Age: Near 60. Can still see well enough, without glasses, to shoot back.

Old, tired, wore out. Been around the third world several times. (South America, South Seas, East Asia) Can't lift a third my own weight. Don't eat much. Know how to do just about anything.

Will arrive with 30 Lbs water, 30 Lbs freeze dried food, Ruger Mini 14, S&W 659, 100 rds for each, a few old books. and 50+ years usable knowledge. That about 100 pounds? (Worst case here. Actually, I would attempt to bring my entire robotics shop. Attempt, I said! )

Skills: Artificer. If you can picture it, I can make it. Make a windmill from a starter motor. Make my own tools as I need 'em. Bend railroad rail with no more than an axe and 6 young men for the bull work. Machinist, electrician, carpenter, stone layer, robotics engineer .

--

Age 25. Ex-military.
Trained extensively in: Perimeter reconnaissance,
Land-navigation.
Instructor of: full-spectrum warfare, defensive fighting positions, combat operations.
Expert marksmen: M16A2, M4A1 (GUU-5/P), M9. Expert in FN-FAL, M1A/M14, AKM, M16/AR-15 Family, 1911-A1, M9, CZ-75. Proficient with many other firearms.
20/15 vision. Reloading/Gunsmith hobbyist.
Physically/Mentally Fit.
Pragmatic/Realist/Professional.

--

Phd/MBA expert (37) on alternative energy and appropriate technology. Tool maker and builder/manufacturer/processor of useful post-TEOTWAWKI machines, trade goods, and alcohol (own BATF-licensed alcohol fuel still). Russian MBA wife (35) survived fall of Soviet Union and 1998 crisis. 4 yo and 10 mo daughters. Home machine shop, tools, anvil, forge, ethanol still, large printed alternative energy / appropriate technology / engineering / survival library, and inventory of preparation items greatly exceed the 100 lb per person limit but would be worthy of a group salvage/recovery mission. G.O.O.D. bags contain standard items recommended by Rawles, et al. Additional personally carried gear would include M1A w/ Leupold scope, AR-15 with trijicon night sites, Glock 21 (45ACP) with Trijicon night sites, Berkey water filter, laptop with large collection (>500 books) of appropriate energy and appropriate technology books on CD, Robinson curriculum on CDs for home schooling kids, ten 15"x15" fresnel lenses capable of starting fires in 30 seconds, disassembled 2" diameter alcohol still column with supply of vapor locks and 1 lb of ethanol yeast, and a few of my more portable tools (blacksmith hammer, hardy, & gloves; measurement tools; multimeter; temperature measure).

--

48 y/o 6ft 180lb male – good health
- Can walk 20 mi/day in full gear
- “Rifleman” with .308 MBR
- Doctor (emergency medicine and minor surgery)
- Gunsmith and reloader
- Cook

Backpack (40 lbs)
Sleeping bag/tarp
(2) BDUs & wool socks
Rain gear
Soap/camp towel/toothbrush
Food bars for 1 week
Water filter/bottle
Cookset/Trioxane tabs
Compass/map
Small survival kit (Fishhooks, matches, snares, etc)
AR-7 and 200 rounds

Web gear (35 lbs)
Knife
First aid/trauma kit
G23 + 2 mags (51 rounds)
8 mags .308 (150 rounds)
HK91

Barter/buy-in: (25 lbs)
Minor surgical set
Sutures/dressings
Local anesthetic/syringes
2000 doses various oral antibiotics and pain meds!

--

I feel I would be a great asset to your community. I am a seventh degree black belt in American freestyle combatives and I could easily teach your people the skills to handle themselves in this perilous time. I also have an extensive background in firearms handling,gunsmithing and reloading. My real expertise thought is as a meat butcher. I can literally take a beef ( or any wild or domestic animal) from the field to the table. I bring with me a full set of cutlery tools, including saws,steels and several knives. I also carry a AR-15 w/8-20 round, loaded mags. A Glock 19 w/mags, and a Rem 870 tactically modified. I have a full set of ultralight camping gear including, freeze dried food,tent, sleeping bag,etc. My loyalties are to God, Country, and my brothers at arms.

--

repaired furniture
a little basic farm work(irrigation, pick rock)
assembled some field sprayers
signalman
roofing
painting
inventory control/purchasing
drafting
some hunting
a lot of fishing
a lot of target shooting
cashier(a lot)
lube and oil cars
janitor
built 40 wood tables for an assembly line
sorted recycled paper
stock shelves
gas station attendant
a little gardening(corn,peas,onions)
unarmed watch
yard work(mowing, weeding)
sandwich/donut driver
some bow and arrow
some encrima [Philippine stick fighting martial art]
some cooking
printers helper
some CPR

--

Male, 38, 160 pounds. Reasonable shape.
Skills:
Suturing, minor surgery, advanced airway management, cautery, fractures, casting, NBC treatment, tooth extraction and making dental fillings. 2 home births. Pistol. Morse code.

Supplies:
Sutures, antibiotics, casting supplies, complete surgery tools and dental extraction set.
.45, scoped M21 sniper rifle plus ammo. Field scope, rangefinder. Level 4 bulletproof vest, helmet, FRS radios.
Water filter, water, food, tent, sleeping pads and bags, heirloom seeds.

Two boys, 7 and 9 and wife. All with level 3a vests. Kids with .22 rifles and ammo. Wife with 9mm, AR-15 and ammo. Knows some gardening. Kids learning morse code.

--

Strengths-
Have excellent interpersonal/negotiation skills
Have made a sufficient study of military history/combat tactics/military strategy
Maintain a vegetable garden/fruit trees
Have studied/used survival techniques in N.A. and C.A.
Have knowledge of indigenous edible plants/animals in N.A. and C.A.
Have skill-at-arms on US/ComBloc small arms
Am expert in usage of map and compass
Have field grade(ditch) medical skills
Maintain personal combatives skills
Can forage and improvise like nobody’s business
Have seen the elephant

Weaknesses –
No livestock husbandry experience
Not a carpenter
Middle aged
Average driving skills

Probable TEOTWAWKI employment:
Retreat security
Weapons maintenance and training
Strategic Planning and Implementation

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Thursday March 8 2007

Retreat Owner Profile: Mr & Mrs. "FerFAL" in Buenos Aires, Argentina

AGE: 28
SOs: Wife 30, 4 year old son
Currently living in the southern Buenos Aires suburbs in a 2 story masonry house with independent reinforced concrete structure.
The houses share walls to the left and right, all around the block, completely enclosing the back yards which are divided by walls or fences covered with libustrina plants. You lose some privacy (noises, loud parties) but you ensure a rather safe garden and back yard for the children to play in since the streets haven’t been safe for a while now, and no responsible adult lets his children play on the street these days.
BACKGROUND: My parents are both accountants, and emigrated to Spain after the 2001 crisis. Both my grandparents emigrated to Argentina from Spain, escaping civil war. Its is ironic that their children and grandchildren escape the country that once sheltered them, back to the country they ran away from but now, 50 years later, is one of the most powerful and prosperous countries in Europe.
There’s a lesson there. Countries fall and rise, always have and one has to admit the possibility of leaving it looking for greener pastures.
Due to my father’s work we moved a bit when I was a kid. First to USA (Boston), then back to Buenos Aires, then to Cordoba (an Argentina inner province) and then back to Buenos Aires again. Now, due to the consequences of the crisis, we are going to move as soon as I finish my studies, either to Spain or to the USA.

ANNUAL INCOME: About $20.000 USD, give or take. I manage some family investments and a small accountant office my parents left behind when they moved to Spain. I also teach Architecture Representation at the same University I attend to, but even though its been three years now since I started teaching, I don’t get paid for it. (ad honorem )
INVESTMENTS: None ( other than those owned by the family business that mostly consist of real estate) no money in bank accounts either. We only deposit money in our debit accounts just to take advantage of some discount, we deposit the money right before we use it, most of the time within the same week. We never leave money sitting in a bank account. After what happened, most people, including us, don’t trust banks with our money any more. It has become common for people to store cash in bank’s safety boxes, but even those are getting emptied due to some cases in which the private safes have been opened by government officials. (Against the constitutional right to privacy, and private property, of course.)
We have credit cards but we don’t use those either, we only keep them for emergencies.
We have a safe where we keep about 2,000 Pesos ($600 USD) and $1,000 USD just in case of an emergency, or someone getting kidnapped and needing ransom money fast ( express kidnapping).
PRESENT HOME: It’s a two story, mortar house. Double walls, 12 inch thick, and poured concrete flowerpots on the 2nd floor which provide nice bullet protection in the master bedroom.
3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 2 car garage, and a nice size backyard with a small swimming pool. The house has a 1000 liter reservoir water tank, central heating, air conditioning, and both city water and an electric pump well for the swimming pool.
Metal bars and grating on windows and backyard door, add a lot to the security of the house.
There’s also a 7 foot metal fence, topped with foot long spikes, right where the front garden meets the sidewalk. Breaking into this house is not easy, no one can do such a thing if we are inside the house, since it would take a lot of time and noise to do so.
We have cable, gas, electricity, and pay for private security ( kiosks with guards on each corner). Even though we have all services most of you know about, they are a bit different form what you may experience in First World countries.
Tap water is polluted, so we basically pay for contaminated water. We have a water filter and drink filtered water exclusively. We bought a 200 USD filter, with smaller filtering cups that get replaced every 2 or 3 months. I keep a year’s worth of cups, and the filter itself is good for another 2 years.(active carbon-ceramic-silver)
Power goes down occasionally, and during summer we have “dirty power” low voltage power, lights go dim, and most appliances don’t work properly. That’s why we keep lots of flashlights handy, along with regular batteries and rechargeable ones.

VEHICLES: The streets are in awful conditions, and the constant roadblocks by “piqueteros” are rough on cars. Some kind of small 4x4 is obviously preferable to a sedan car.
Cars are very expensive, about $20.000 to $50,000 USD. A used Suzuki Swift, one with 100,000 km, goes for $11,000 USD.
I have a Daewoo Lanos, and though I wished I had something better its relatively fast and small which is also good for running around the city, and getting out of tight spots. Spare parts are expensive and hard to get.
My car is set up with GNC, meaning it runs both on gas an natural compressed gas, big yellow tank in the trunk. I can switch to either one just by pushing a button, and I run for 100km with only $2.50 USD worth of compressed gas. It also allows me to keep the gas tank full at all times, using only GNC, and having the gas tank full for emergencies.
GNC is used by almost 60% of the cars in Argentina, more than any other country in the world, so there’s enough infrastructure (GNC stations, mechanics, parts) for our society to run on it.
It’s also interesting to note the burst of GNC after the 2001, after people found out that they couldn’t afford gasoline for their cars. Maybe other countries that suffer an economical collapse or fuel shortage will end up doing likewise.
FIREARMS BATTERY: I have several firearms and my collection is constantly changing. I went into a lot of effort to get the collector license that allows me to purchase box magazine fed, semi-auto centerfire rifles. The average citizen that gets a gun permit can only acquire handguns, shotguns and manual repeating arms, with the exception of 22 LR semi autos.
The great majority of shooters in this country don’t have this license ( has to be approved by the Senate, took over a year for it to get approved), few knew about it back when you could get one, so I know I’m terrible lucky when it comes to firearms, having more firepower than most Argentines could ever procure.
My main handgun is a Glock 31 in 357 sig. Ammo is expensive and hard to get, but it’s worth it in my opinion.
I have several other handguns, as back ups and chambered for more popular rounds, such as a Norinco 1911 45 ACP, a Llama 4 inch 357 magnum revolver, A Bersa Thunder 9mm, two 9mm Hi Powers.
For long arms I have: As a main rifle I have a FM [FN clone] FAL Para carbine, and a FMK3 9mm SMG. A Mossberg 500 with a 14 inch barrel and mounted 80 lumen light.
Ammo is extremely expensive. I have about 500 rounds of 308 and 7.62[mm NATO], over 1000 rounds of 9mm, most of it +P JHP and a few hundred 12 ga shells, most of it 00 buckshot.
9mm is my “core” battery round, that would feed my 9mm handguns and SMG.
I keep a few boxes for each other caliber.
I have been in a few “complicated” spots so far, and being armed and alert has made the difference for me in more than one occasion. In those occasions the mere presence of my gun has been enough to stop the threat, without the need of ever shooting anyone.
It doesn’t make any sense to plan on shooting hundreds of rounds and not getting any fire in return, so I also have a concealed body level II body armor vest which has provided a lot of piece of mind on several occasions. Specially when going into “tough” places or meeting with people I’m not so sure about. It’s one of my most precious possessions.
GARDENS: No gardens for me, just a lemon tree that provides lots of lemons and a laurel plant to spice up pasta. I could have a small orchard in my backyard if I wanted.

PETS AND LIVESTOCK: No livestock, just a Jack Russell. Good pet but not as good as a watch dog, though I must admit that for the last couple of days he’s been more vigilant and watchful. He’s just a one year old so maybe it was a maturity problem. I’d like to have a larger dog though, but since I’m planning to move soon it could be a problem.
COMMUNICATIONS: Cable modem internet, phone, and a couple of cell phones.
FOOD STORAGE: About 5 or 6 months worth of food. Most of it flavored rice, rice with dehydrated vegetables, canned meats, canned tuna, canned vegetables, soups, dry pasta, powdered milk, non lactose powdered milk for my son, smashed potatoes flakes, tomato sauce, tea, coffee, honey, sugar, salt and 30 5 liter bottles of water.
MEDICAL: Lots of medicines, several kinds of antibiotic, meds for my son, for treating gastritis, tape, dressings, band aids, disinfectants, ibuprofen, just to name a few. I also keep a nice supply of hand soap, disinfectant soap and cleaning products to insure hygiene inside the house. 3rd world countries are full of diseases due to the general poverty, so its important to prevent as much as possible.

HOBBIES: Shooting, collecting guns, reading, working out and watching a movie every now and then. Having a good time with my wife and playing with my son.
FUEL STORAGE: 30 liters in plastic cans, enough to get to the airport or out of the city, though I’m not planning on leaving my house during civil unrest, I’d rather “hold the fort” until I can leave.
WORST CASE SCENARIO (“WHEN THE BALLOON GOES UP”): Another December 2001 would be pretty bad, meaning anarchy, serious social unrest, looting and mobs invading privately owned homes. It happened before, I saw the mob just around the corner form my place so that’s something to worry about.
I’m also worried about our government being friends with Chavez, Evo Morales and Fidel, this county will end up like those socialist/communist if it continues to go in that direction.
MY SURVIVAL PLAN: We have already made up our minds about leaving. As far as I’m concerned, this country will only go down hill in the next few years, and the censorship and lies about things being better is downright scary. I’m sure this country will one day rise above the rest of Latin America, but not now. Many years will have to go by, and a lot of blood an bullets will be wasted before that day comes. I don’t want to take part of any of it.
So we have two make sure we are safe for the next couple of years, until we leave. This means being extra cautious and vigilant , bordering the paranoid line, to keep us all safe.
CONCLUSION: Prepare as well as you possibly can without turning it into a compulsive thing. I prepare to survive and live a rich life, not the other way around. I don’t live just to worry about the sky falling. The sky has already fallen for me and we’re still here. Things are bad, pretty bad if you want to torment yourself and research further into the corruption and violence in this country. We are still alive and we have each other. Millions of people have accepted this as their reality and decided to go on with their lives and try not to worry too much, many go as far as lying to themselves, denying the reality that surrounds them. We want to go on with our lives, but we don’t want to worry our brains out, nor will we go through life as blindfolded sheep that can’t see what’s in front of them. We simply accept the fact that this country has changed, and is now too dangerous, too corrupt, insecure and too primitive for the standard of life we look forward to, and we take the necessary measures, meaning we move out of it and start a life somewhere else.

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Saturday December 23 2006

Retreat Owner Profile: Mr. and Mrs. Oscar

Home/property: Located in eastern Wisconsin. 160 acres of mixed pine and oak forest. 32,000 trees planted in the last two years. Entered in tree management program. House 2,800 square feet. Principally heated by a soapstone stove with propane hot water backup. Built in 1981. Outbuilding shed/library/reloading room. A 40x30 pole barn. Shed has cast iron "cooking/heating" stove, wood fired…propane backup. 1,000 gallon propane tank. Inverter in place for addition of 6,500 watt diesel generator to be installed spring '07. 200 gallons gasoline stabilized and in place. 70 gallons kerosene. 500 gallon diesel tank to be in place at addition of generator. Several solar panels in inventory and more to follow. Plan to get off grid by '09 if there is time. Have 15 springs and an artesian flow into 18 acres of wetland with a five acre pond adjacent to home. Pond built as trout rearing facility by DNR in 1941. Trout/walleye/perch/crappies abound in crystal clear cool water. Site not nearly defensible as wished but 2-3 miles of barbed wire in inventory with staking to be erected when time comes. Dozens of caltrops on hand for roadway interdiction Security system in place with video system to follow. Another large pole building will be built in '07-'08 for further storage of vehicles/tools.

Age: He, 59 and She 55. Children grown and gone but back to farm regularly.

Income. In excess of $400,000 annually.
Professions: She is an M.D. with 22 years on the job. He is an Instructor in Administration of Justice at a local community college. He is a Viet Nam vet and witnessed the Tet offensive firsthand. Saw Saigon a city in chaos, a society in collapse. He graduate with B.S./M.S. in education. Graduate of Oregon Institute of Technology (Gunsmithing) 1976. Practiced full time/part time 25 years in the trade.
Investments. The land and the trees, stocks and bonds, and "investment grade" weapons.
Property will be paid off in March of '07. Plan is to invest in off grid power upgrades
Vehicles. She, a Mercedes. He a Ford 4WD pickup. There are two BMW motorcycles, one a 2002 1100RT, The other is a perfect condition 1985 80ST. The ST should need no protection from any EMP threat. Many small engine gas powered garden implements of the DR type. She has an Vespa scooter. Bicycles were bought last month. 11-06.
Weaponry. He is a state certified instructor with pistols, rifles, shotguns and submachine guns. He also teaches vehicles contacts and emergency vehicle operation and chemical munitions. They have incorporated a small business corporation to obtain registered Class 2 and Class 3 weapons. There are currently: 1 Ingram M10 in .45ACP with [suppressor] can. 1 Swedish "K" 9mm SMG, 1 Sterling Mk4 9mm SMG, 1 Thompson .45ACP SMG, 1 FN-FL heavy barrel select fire .308, 1 SAW M16 with can, 1 M-1A with glass, 1 FN Belgian .308 with glass, 1 Bushmaster .308 with Nightforce glass. 3 SKS, 1 AK-47 semi, 2 M-1 Carbines (U.S.G.I.) 1 Marlin Camp Carbine 9mm and 1 in .45 suppressed. 3 Remington Senderos one .223/1-.308/1-.300 W.M. All with Nightforce glass. One Barrett .50 BMG single shot with Nightforce glass. The Bushmaster will be suppressed in 01-07. There are many, many more "sporting arms." 11 other suppressed items. Many handguns. Currently there is a FN 5.7x28 with can and four 30 round mags and four 20 round. There is a FN M90 5.7x28 rifle. A FN .223/M2000 is in the pipeline. The 5.7x28 weapons are astonishing in their performance and penetration. There are 6 fighting shotguns of various manufacture, all 12 gauge. We all shoot a lot.
Ammunition. Thousands and thousands. A full compliment of reloading capability.
Fuel: Gasoline. Kerosene, previously mentioned. We have six cases Coleman fuel. Many cylinders of bottled gas for stoves and 200 pounds of charcoal. (diversify, diversify)
Future improvements were previously mentioned. They all depend on what is affordable and when and how the poop hits the prop.
Crops/garden: 2,700 square foot garden. To be planted this next season (Spring of '07) with non-hybrids only. We can 300-400 jars annually the rest gets the deep freeze. We murder big and small game regularly and plan to try drying/jerky experiments with game in '07. There are 20 fruit trees planted with 20-30 more to follow in '07. We put up 20-30 pints/quarts of berries from the woods this year.
Property tax was typical of Wisconsin. Two years ago it was in excess of $6,800. Cut to about half by entering the tree management program.
Animals. One old Bouvier a new one to follow in '07. A Labrodoodle for hunting. Two cats. No animal husbandry however we are looking at rabbits and chickens. Perhaps a Rhodesian Ridgeback in '08 for a set of teeth for the farm.
Communications. Two receivers capable of AM/FM Ham. Four handhelds and one base Marine Band. We are well inland from the Mississippi and expect no interference. CB base and portables. 6 FRS walkie-talkies. Will obtain 2-to-4 field telephones when found for sale. Already have two miles of commo wire for same on hand.
Food. 1 year freeze-dried for 2 adults. At least 1 year of same in wet pack. 12 cases MREs, with more to follow. Much bulk stored wheat/rice/beans. 300 gallons of water in plastic. Capability to filter and clean 50,000 gallons from pond.
Hobbies. We read quite a bit with over 1,500 books in the library. He has been into preparedness for 30 years. She for 5. We can/garden/shoot/bird watch/tend the forest/study foraging ( a noted forager with a new book out lives within 6 miles…we will take his courses next spring). Reloading/hunting/woodcutting (Four cords on hand and ongoing).
Background. She a native South Dakotan. Now an M.D. A Christian. Enjoys hunting. A voracious reader of all things. He a former police officer (14) years who found teaching Law Enforcement was infinitely better than the frustration of being a practitioner. He, an atheist with respect for all peaceful faiths/beliefs. He teaches a course on terrorism for a local community college.
Concerns: There is a growing population of predators (animal) in the area. There have been five credible sightings of cougar in the district. We have a compliment of bears. Our county has been a dumping ground for "problem" bears from other parts of the state. Thanks a lot! Six wolves have been sighted this deer season on the property. Coyotes abound. I have no problem with a "healthy" predator population. It is a sign of a healthy environment. I worry for livestock/chickens/rabbits and the dogs. Feral pigs are a growing problem south of us. No doubt to be here any time. They are destructive.
Further preparations must be started for the improvement of the defenses.
There will be an influx of at least eight adults and one child if the poop hits the prop. More prep for those. Several "by in" to preparedness. Most (the spouses) do not.
There is a lot on our plate as with anyone in the process of preparing. We would like to meet with others of our ilk. How to do this is a conundrum. We have obtained a large amount of trapping supplies. Two close friends are trappers with years of experience. We will learn.

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Tuesday January 24 2006

Three Letter Re: Internet and Search Engine Privacy

Jim:
I've done a lot of experimenting on this and offer my take:

Rule Number One: The U.S. Government is monitoring domestic internet traffic. Anybody visiting Survivalblog is already suspect by the government because of it's very subject matter. Assume that you are being monitored. Let's not be naive here please.

Anonymizer is obviously monitored by the Government because it maintains logs of in/out IP Addresses.

Tor...the Onion Router is the best way to go if you have DSL or Cable high-speed internet connection because there is no central logging. I use it.

CCleaner [Cache Cleaner] at http://www.ccleaner.com/ is the very best way to keep your computer free of what snoops want. It is FREE, tiny, fast, easy, and I click on it after every internet surf. It instantly removes all tracking cookies. It also instantly removes all those useless internet temp files that clog/slow your computer. Download it FREE right now. -Book

James:

You mentioned that your readers might be interested in a brief write up of privacy on the Internet and how to keep yourself off of the radar. I'll try to oblige.
First some background: My company and I do Information Security for small businesses, so we and I have experience in keeping private things private in the real world. What I'm doing is basically putting into text the Security Speech that I give any client who I consult for (and will sit still long enough to hear it). I'll stay away from technical terms and specific products/'solutions' until the very end where I'll describe a few different levels of 'security' in real-world examples. Specific privacy stuff is further towards the end.
Rule Number One: There Is No Such Thing As A Secure Computer (or Anything Else)
Perfect security is impossible. Computer security researchers are fond of saying that the only secure computer is one that's unplugged from the network, turned off, sealed in a vault and protected by well-paid guards, and they're only partially joking. (Yes this is what passes for humor in the computer security profession.) No matter what steps you take to keep your stuff secure, someone, somewhere can break into it and steal them; given sufficient time and money all computers are vulnerable. The only thing you can do to an attacker is slow him or her down. All of modern security is devoted to slowing attackers down. This has two effects: it makes you less appealing to casual attackers and it frustrates determined attackers.
In WWII the Germans used an encryption device called "enigma" to send secret messages to their troops. They thought it was unbreakable. The allies broke it. The moral of the story is that what we think is 'secure' today will be as tough as tissue paper in fifty years.
Rule Number Two: Security Is Not A Product.
What I mean by this is twofold: one, anyone who sells you a "secure" widget is lying. Widgets, computers, servers and networks are not secure or insecure by their nature; they are merely tools. Any tool can be used for good or ill, just think of the climate concerning guns. This is a continuation of the first rule; not only is there no such thing as a secure computer, any steps that have been taken to create a more secure computer can be blown away by the mentality of the user. This rule probably should read Security Is A State Of Mind, but this way I can combine two rules into one. In a nutshell, every system is only as secure as the users of that system are willing to make it.
The canonical example of this is a hospital. Hospitals have insane oversight in terms of confidentiality of patient information and they can get in real trouble for letting the Wrong People see certain files. So the natural step is to make each level of access have a separate password and each user must login to separate authentication levels, blah blah blah. Its a 'very secure system.' End result? Nurses get tired of remembering so many passwords and write them down on sticky notes on the monitor. Security that is too hard to use will be defeated.
Rule Number Three: Your Computer Is A Castle.
Traditional security is a good analogy to computer security. Things that people would never do in the real world they don't think twice about doing online. When you open an attachment you're not expecting, its like licking your neighbor's doorknob. When you blindly click 'OK' on every pop up window, its like walking around in a bad neighborhood with a roll of hundred dollar bills poking out of your pocket. Remember the Trojan Horse? Trusting everyone online will get you in trouble, just like in real life.
Likewise, when you evaluate a system for security the first place you look is the place where security is the weakest. If you double-encrypt everything and lock your computer in a safe but your password is 'secret', you're not really secure. Always look at the big picture and don't lose the forest for the trees. Likewise, if you have an uber-secure locked-down machine but its in an office where the cleaning staff have physical access, you're not secure.
Rule Number Four: Security is Boring
This is the hardest thing to get right. The best way to be secure online is to do the little things all the time. Boring things like keeping your security updates up-to-date and getting an anti-virus. Being paranoid about your email and choosing the right software go a huge way towards keeping your stuff safe. Have a legal copy of all your software, especially your anti-virus. Pay for it. If you don't want to pay for it, AVG anti virus is free and damn good. More detail later.
That's it for the theory, there will be a quiz on Thursday. Now the practice. There are a few things that you can do to keep yourself secure and protect what little privacy you still have.
The first thing to know is that email is not secure. Think of email as sending a postcard, there's nothing to stop anyone who touches it from reading it. Email is hard but not impossible to anonymize, but there are few remaining anonymizers left. Any old Hotmail or other free account will work for certain values of 'anonymous' but they probably will not stand up to a legal search warrant unless you are very careful. Gmail is not a good provider for anonymous email because of the invite system. Unless you can get an invite anonymously anyone tracing it can simply look up who invited you and compel them to spill the beans.
Another thing is that any site you visit on the web can get a huge amount of information on you that your browser just sends out on its own. Things like your IP address which can be traced to a rough location and if the government gets involved can probably be traced down to whoever pays the bills. This can be mitigated by using anonymizing proxies, Tor and privoxy. More detail further on
Yet another key facet is that anything that is on your computer is something that you are trusting fully. If you follow good protocol, you are trusting Microsoft with all of your data, and you are trusting whoever makes your anti-virus or firewall with all your data. There is precedent for law enforcement using the anti-virus update to compromise the computer of a group that was holed up in their cabin to prevent them from emailing out. In case I wasn't clear, this has happened and will happen again.
Now for some details and the all-important links:
In terms of an operating system, Windows is the default and there's no budging most people from it. With good practices and by keeping up to date you can keep windows tolerably secure. I would trust it for mildly embarrassing data but not critical data. Please upgrade to at least Windows 2000. Windows XP with Service Pack 2 is best. I know its expensive, but Windows 95, 98, and ME are outdated and not secure.
Since no one has access to the code that makes Windows tick, there is no way to determine for sure that there is not an easy back door that could be leveraged against you. I cannot recommend keeping mission critical data on a Windows machine. If you have a bit more freedom about what you run, I heartily recommend getting a Macintosh. The new Apple OS X is built upon a very secure BSD base and it strikes an excellent balance between usability and security. Any version of Linux or BSD can be made secure, but if you're running those you probably know how to secure it.
Web browsers: There really is only one. Firefox is the best that has come along yet. It can be setup for decent everyday browsing and keep a good rein on your cookies and history. In the firefox settings, you can exercise very fine control over what sites are allowed to set cookies on your machine and when to expire them. Please do not use Internet Explorer on ANY OS. It is not secure in any way. A good addition is Privoxy and/or Tor. A must-have extension for Firefox is Adblock Plus and "Filterset.G"

Email client: I recommend either Mozilla Thunderbird, but basically anything but Outlook (Express) is acceptable. Outlook is massively insecure, Please do not use it.
Anti Virus: They're all equally mediocre. I use AVG which is free for personal use. Pick one and keep it updated.
Firewall: Again, the windows firewall cannot be trusted. I recommend Kerio Personal Firewall, and I use it myself. Tiny Personal Firewall is good too. Zone Alarm is less powerful and Black Ice is worthless.
Proxies: Privoxy is a nice semi-anonymizing proxy that runs on your local machine. It can't hide your IP but it will strip out a lot of identifiable information. Its pretty easy to set up too.
Tor is a very clever onion routing network that passes your traffic through a few levels of other machines so that theoretically not only does the site you're visiting not know who you are, nobody could trace your connection back to you. An added benefit is that Tor servers are encrypted so your traffic is harder to snoop on as well as being more anonymous. The disadvantage is that this is SLOW.
Encryption: BestCrypt can create secure images that can be viewed on Windows and Linux.
Below I'm going to outline three levels of security and what they should be reasonably protected against.
The first is an easy to use everyday machine. You will be protected from most common automated and non-directed attacks but a determined attacker will still be able to penetrate as will a governmental entity. If there is demand I can work up a similar profile for a Mac.
Microsoft Windows 2000 or XP.
AVG anti virus or similar.
Kerio Personal Firewall of similar.
Firefox, Adblock Plus and Filterset.G set to only allow same-domain cookies.
Privoxy
The second is more anonymous but it sacrifices speed. You will use this if you want to do something that you wouldn't want broadcasted.
The same as above except Firefox is set to expire cookies on close, and keep no disk cache or history. Privoxy is also connected to Tor for anonymization.
For email, Thunderbird and Enigmail can be setup to encrypt your email to a very strong degree, as long as the recipient has a similar setup. New Enigmail versions are very user-friendly in this regard.
Also, it is possible to have two different "profiles" of firefox on one machine, one that simply browses normally with sane cookie rules, and another that passes through Tor/Privoxy and keeps no history or cache and clears cookies on exit. This is simple to do and a good mix of usability and the ability to be more anonymous if desired.
One note: Remember that today's "uncrackable" will be a joke in fifty years. Also, encrypted traffic will probably raise a certain level of awareness among those doing the spying. Legally this poses no problems but if you're doing something you wouldn't like discovered sending encrypted e-mails to osama@alqaida.com it is probably a bad idea.
A Proviso: The above two systems rely on closed code and trusting updates. They would be very vulnerable to any form of governmental intrusion and nothing can be done to mitigate this. IF YOU ARE GOING TO DO SOMETHING ILLEGAL, DON'T USE ANYTHING CLOSED-SOURCE TO DO IT WITH. If you do intend to do something illegal, or even if you're just paranoid like me, a good idea would be to have a second machine. This is similar to what the NSA does internally: Classified machines cannot talk to Top Secret machines, and none of them can talk to Unclassified machines.
A good Classified or Top Secret machine might look like this. This machine should be reasonably secure against anything but a direct, physical attack.
BSD or Linux OS, properly configured (details are outside the scope of this article. I will be happy to provide further information upon request).
A solid, encrypted file system or BestCrypt for any user data.
Not connected to the network. Use a USB flash keychain/thumb drive for getting data off of it.
Again, none of this is any good at all if your master password is your birthday.
I hope someone finds this useful and I'm happy to answer any more detailed questions either via SurvivalBlog or directly. - Paedrig Hawkwing (PaedrigHawkwing-at-gmail.com--change the "-at-" to an @ symbol)

JWR Adds:  Our web statistics show that 19% of our readers now use the Firefox browser, up substantially from the 16% when we started SurvivalBlog back in August of Aught Five. My advice:  DUMP that back-door ridden, data mining Microsoft Internet Explorer. Firefox is free!

Hi Jim,
Another option for anonymous web browsing is to install Tor, an "onion routing" package that sends your data through 'layers' of different servers before reaching your desired destination. After I first installed Tor, I visited Google and was surprised to see it looked a little different -- Google detected that I was coming from Austria (since the last server 'layer' was located there) and presented me with "Google Österreich"! Tor is free and easy to setup. The EFF has instructions for Windows ( http://tor.eff.org/cvs/tor/doc/tor-doc-win32.html) and OSX (http://tor.eff.org/cvs/tor/doc/tor-doc-osx.html ). Regards, - MP

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