Access To Destiny

As the Waters Cover the Sea, 3

2011-12-12T15:53:00.000-05:00

Continued from "As the Waters Cover the Sea, 2"

Goals and Strategy

In the struggle to reclaim all knowledge to the service and glory of Christ, the victory belongs to His people. Nevertheless, to achieve that end the Church needs clearly defined goals and a winning strategy. This requires that Christians carefully derive their objectives and methods from Scripture.

Perhaps the greatest danger in doing this lies in adopting the attitudes and practices of integrationism or syncretism. Integrationists follow a modern version of the Thomistic approach.

They reason, "Since all truth comes from God, we can pick up truth wherever we find it. And since the truth we find in Aristotle or modern biology has equal validity to the truth we find in Scripture, we can simply put them together."

While this may sound enticing -- for all truth does indeed come from God -- the integrationist does not give God's Word its rightful place as the final arbiter of truth. Therefore, he fails to see the necessity of corrective measures to knowledge propagated by those in rebellion to God.

This does not deny that unbelievers have a capacity to apprehend certain functional knowledge which permits them to live and act in the world that God created. But the integrationist fails to acknowledge the basis and nature of the unbeliever's knowledge.

You see, the unbeliever is actually double-minded. At base all men know God as His creatures, but as sinners all men refuse to acknowledge their Creator and live by His revelation. Hence we can say that men both know and do not know God; they know Him in judgment and in virtue of natural revelation, but they do not know Him in blessing unless it is in virtue of supernatural revelation and saving grace. Though hampered by his moral condition, the unbeliever's scholarship is not completely defunct. he can attain knowledge despite himself. In principle his unbelief would preclude understanding of anything, for (as Augustine said) one must believe in order to understand. However, in practice the unbeliever is restrained from a consistent self-destructive following of his unbelieving system. (Always Ready, Greg Bahnsen [Robert R. Booth, ed.], Atlanta [American Vision] and Texarkana [Covenant Media Foundation], 1996, p. 38)

As a consequence of the unbeliever's double-mindedness -- which results from suppression of the truth at a presuppositional level -- every fact he knows carries with it the taint of unbelief. In order to redeem knowledge from the unbeliever's grasp, the believer must discern what the unbeliever has apprehended that conforms to God's created order and place it within the context of Biblical presuppositions.

To be continued

Success Story

2011-10-22T11:09:00.003-04:00

SAID THE

LITTLE

RED ROOSTER

“MY GOODNESS GRACIOUS!

THE THINGS ARE TOUGH.

SEEMS THAT WORMS ARE GET- 0

TING SCARCE. AND I CANNOT FIND 00

ENOUGH. WHAT’S BECOME 000

OF ALL THOSE FAT ONES 0000

IS A MYSTERY TO ME: 00000

THERE WERE THOUSANDS THRU 0000000

THAT RAINY SPELL – BUT NOW 000000000000

WHERE CAN THEY BE?” THE OLD 0000000000000000

BLACK HEN THAT HEARD HIM DIDN’T 000000000000000000

GRUMBLE AND COMPLAIN. SHE HAD GONE 00000000000000000000

THROUGH LOTS OF DRY SPELLS. SHE HAD LIVED 000000000000000000000

THROUGH FLOODS OF RAIN. SHE FLEW UP TO THE GRINDSTONE AND SHE

GAVE HER CLAWS A WHET, AS SHE SAID, “I’VE NEVER SEEN THE TIME

WHEN THERE WEREN’T WORMS TO GET.” SHE PICKED A NEW AND UNDUG

SPOT. THE EARTH WAS HARD AND FIRM. THE LITTLE ROOSTER JEERED:

“NEW GROUND! THAT’S NO PLACE FOR A WORM.” THE OLD BLAK HEN JUST

SPREAD HER FEET, AS SHE DUG BOTH FAST AND FREE. “I MUST GO TO

THE WORMS,” SHE SAID, “THE WORMS WON’T COME TO ME.” THE ROOSTER

VAINLY SPENT HIS DAY, THROUGH HABIT, BY THE WAYS WHERE FAT ROUND

WORMS HAD PASSED IN SQUADS BACK IN THE RAINY DAYS. WHEN NIGHT-

FALL FOUND HIM SUPPERLESS, HE GROWLED IN ACCENT ROUGH, “I’M

HUNGRY AS A FOWL CAN BE. CONDITIONS SURE ARE TOUGH.” HE TURNED

THEN TO THE BLACK HEN AND SAID, “IT’S WORSE WITH YOU,

FOR YOU’RE NOT ONLY HUNGRY, BUT YOU MUST BE TIRED, TOO. I

RESTED WHILE I LOOKED FOR WORMS SO I FEEL FAIRLY PERK: BUT

HOW ARE YOU? WITHOUT WORMS, TOO, AND AFTER ALL

THE WORK.” THE OLD BLACK HEN HOPPED

TO HER PERCH AND DROOPED HER

EYES TO SLEEP, AND MUR-

MERED IN A DROWSY

TONE: “YOUNG MAN,

HEAR THIS AND

WEEP:

0000

I’M FULL OF WORMS AND HAPPY, FOR I’VE

DINED BOTH LONG AND WELL. THE WORMS ARE

THERE AS ALWAYS. BUT I HAD TO DIG LIKE CRAZY.”

How Great Leaders Lead

2011-09-10T15:16:00.000-04:00

Christian Warrior Online: WARSKYL on Steroids

2011-08-30T17:06:00.000-04:00

My new blog is called Christian Warrior Online, and you can find it over at christianwarrior.co

The Central Myth of the Conservative Movement

2011-04-19T19:03:00.000-04:00

Conservatives run for office promising smaller civil government and lower deficits. When they become elected, government and deficits continue to grow. Part of the reason for this is the central myth of the conservative movement.

You will hear it in speeches, read it in articles and see it in blogs and comments: "Get back to the Constitution." This is an expression of the myth that the U.S. Constitution is about limited government.

Gary North takes on the myth here:

The U.S Constitution: Tool of Centralization and Debt, 1788- Today

Welfare for the Super Rich?

2011-03-05T19:42:00.000-05:00

As the Waters Cover the Sea, 2

2010-12-20T17:31:00.000-05:00

Continued from "As the Waters Cover the Sea"

One the Church's needs today includes present day Joshuas and Calebs -- farseeing individuals who will educate themselves in the Biblical theory and methodology of knowledge and who will digest the seminal works that set out Biblical paradigms for various fields (law, government, economics, art, music, literature and the sciences) and then pass the legacy on to others. As pastors, church officers, Sunday school teachers or leaders of other church ministries, they must whet the flock's appetite for a godly understanding of every facet of life.

Those with a stake in the status quo -- including professional ministers and teachers -- will oppose them. For this reason self discipline and self motivation will mark this vanguard, and the going will not be easy.

Consider, for example, a former student of mine who caught the vision of grounding all his knowledge in Scripture. He used to visit me every time he came home from the prominent evangelical college where he studied. He would share with me his frustration at profs who opened class with a verse of Scripture and a word of prayer and then opened a humanist text and taught the class from the same perspective one could find in any secular humanist school.

This student voluntarily undertook a dualist education. He listened carefully in class, but when he returned to his dorm, he would study with his Bible in hand to unlearn everything he learned in class. Then he would relearn it from the perspective of Scripture. He earnestly pursued this strenuous practice, although the stress of it exacted its toll on him in terms of his health.

He went on to graduate school and became a respected professional in his field. Nevertheless, his commitment to remain faithful to his God in the realms of knowledge cost him the strength of his youth. If the Lord calls you into the battle to appropriate all knowledge to His glory, then you must also face the personal costs and sacrifices for such a life calling.

You will engage the enemy in this war of conquest, so you will need to face the reality of that war. With wars come casualties; people suffer. And because the enemy recognizes the far-reaching consequences of ideas, he will not permit us the luxury of ivory-tower somnambulance. Although he will most certainly engage us in our flesh and spirit, he will not prevail.

As the Waters Cover the Sea

2010-12-17T11:05:00.005-05:00

The following post represents a second draft of the fifth chapter of my book Christian Methodology. In it, I discuss the means and the standards Christians should use to appropriate knowledge possessed by unbelievers in the prevailing culture.

It will take a number of installments to complete this chapter, and you will have an opportunity to participate in the editorial process as I prepare this chapter for inclusion in the published version of Christian Methodology.

They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11:9)

For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. (Habakkuk 2:14)

Israel, as a mighty wave, flowed out of Egypt and across the wilderness. She stood poised to run upon the land of Canaan like a flood. Her people had the potential to sweep away the old, effete pagan culture and to replace it with a society in harmony with the character of Yaweh, Lord of the covenant.

Their covenant Lord had liberated them from their enslavement to the Egyptian gods and culture. On Sinai, He had given them a blueprint for a new society -- a redeemed one. True greatness lay within their grasp.

Similarly, the Church of our Lord Jesus sits encamped on the frontiers of opportunity. Heir to generations of development with respect to the application of biblical truth to thought and life, New Covenant Israel possesses the basic elements necessary to displace prevailing humanist culture with the Scriptural world and live view. The King has, in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20), issued a mandate that Christians disciple all nations and teach them to observe Christ's commands. This conquest must include a restructuring of all human knowledge in accordance with revealed paradigms.

The Church has not yet embraced the full vision of what it means to bring every thought into captivity to Christ (II Corinthians 10:5). Like the spies sent into Canaan (Numbers 13 & 14), some individuals and organizations have made forays into enemy-occupied territory, and they have reported back to us of the magnificent world available to Christ's people, if they would only exercise the will to become the Church militant once again.

Joshua and Caleb painted a glorious picture of a land that God had promised them -- one that flowed with milk and honey. Today, men like Rushdoony and Bahnsen have likewise opened our eyes to the possibilities of a culture that functions in terms of godly justice. DeMar has provided a glimpse of Scriptural political theory, and North has unfolded the possibilities inherent in a Biblical approach to economics. Nickel has demonstrated that even mathematics should be viewed from the perspective of Scripture.

These, and others like them, have barely scratched the surface. Nevertheless, they have spied out the riches of wisdom and knowledge that await us.

CONTINUED HERE

The Beginning of Woes

2010-09-25T15:15:00.000-04:00

In an article posted over at American Vision, Joel McDurmon related the following:

At a conference last spring I sat on the speakers’ panel for Q&A from the audience. Unscripted Q&A is one of my favorite moments at conferences—you never know what’s coming, exactly. During what followed someone asked (paraphrasing), “At what point did things go wrong in America?” He certainly had in mind the slide into tyranny we have experienced since our beloved founders. My response, I think, shocked some.

How would you answer that question? When the Supreme Court allowed abortion under Roe v. Wade 1973)? When the Supreme Court banned prayer (Engel v. Vitale, 1962) & Scripture (Abinton County School District v. Schempp, 1963) from the public schools? Maybe when they stopped producing the Andy Griffith show?

Here is McDurmon's answer -- and for the record, I agree with him:

Since we had just been discussing the issue of Lincoln and States’ rights in passing, the anticipated answer was “The Civil War.” I went back even further to the first great advance of tyranny: “The Constitutional Convention.”

There were a couple head nods (surely these had read something like Gary North’s Political Polytheism), but for the most part there was silence with several looks of surprise.

Interested to know why? Click here to read the article.

What If . . . ?

2010-07-08T09:44:00.000-04:00

It may come as a surprise to some that a guy who authors a blog called WARSKYL does not support the military industrial complex and the USA's international military adventures. Nonetheless, it is true.

Here is Ron Paul speaking as a lone voice of reason in Congress:

Judgment on America? - 6

2010-06-30T10:41:00.000-04:00

This is the final video in the sped-up version of Lindsey Williams' presentation.

I hope to post a followup commentary on these videos within the next week.

Disclaimer:While I believe the information presented is primarily factual, I cannot guarantee everything predicted, nor can I be responsible for what you do with this information.

Also, there are certain interpretations and opinions expressed by Lindsey Williams that I emphatically DO NOT ENDORSE. Among them are his views on the inspiration and inerrancy of the King James Version; the idea that certain Bible prophecies refer specifically to America; the idea that the elite can control the weather (the jury's still out on that one); the cultic view that the U.S. Constitution is an inspired scripture; etc.

Are You a Judeo-Christian?

2010-06-29T11:43:00.000-04:00

A couple of months ago, I was invited to a rally where a conservative candidate for office gave a campaign speech. The man has a good reputation as a Christian believer and an honest businessman.

During his speech, he made a statement that I have commonly heard among conservative politicians. He said that he stood for the "Judeo-Christian" values on which this country was founded.

I guess people have heard the phrase often enough that they do not question its meaning. What are Judeo-Christian values?

I guess some might say that they are values that come out of both the New Testament (Christian) and the Old Testament (Judaic). But that would be redundant, for the Christian Bible contains both Old and New Testaments.

So, why not just say "Christian values"?

Perhaps because the public-at-large would view such a claim as too narrow? Would it be political suicide to identify one's agenda with the kingship of Christ?

Perhaps because the politician does not want to offend the small but influential Jewish portion of the electorate? Would it be political suicide to exclude adherents to Judaism from one's moral agenda?

As an effort at inclusiveness, references to America's "Judeo-Christian roots" implies a strong Jewish influence in the foundation of the nation's political systems. Just how many colonies were explicitly (or even implicitly) Jewish at the time of the War for Independence?

Moreover, modern Judaism follows the same Rabbinic tradition of which the Pharisees comprised an integral part. What did Jesus have to say about their "Judeo" values? (see Matthew 23)

It seems incongruous to me that a Sunday School class, on the one hand, has spent a year studying the Apostle Paul's condemnation of Judaized Christianity in the book of Galatians, while on the other hand, the majority of the class supports a candidate who openly advocates a Judeo-Christian agenda.

It seems such a small compromise for a Christian candidate to use an inclusive term like "Judeo-Christian" values. But if that candidate cannot bear the reproach of Christ in his candidacy, he has opened to door to bigger compromises once he takes office.

If a man cannot be elected without making such compromises, then so be it. Let him take his stand, and let the electorate condemn themselves before God.

But a candidate who blurs his Christianity from the start does not recommend himself to me. I see such candidates as simply one facet of God's judgment upon this nation.

Judgment on America? - 5

2010-06-24T16:22:00.002-04:00

One of the signs Lindsey Williams in his January videos said to watch for was the number of bank closings. He said that the insider plan is that withing 2 years, 9 banks will end up in control of all banking in the U.S.

Here is the site where the FDIC lists all banks that have failed since the year 2000. Scan down the page to see how many failures there were from 2000 to 20009 compared to this year. FAILED BANK LIST

Here is the next video in the series:

Disclaimer:While I believe the information presented is primarily factual, I cannot guarantee everything predicted, nor can I be responsible for what you do with this information.

Also, there are certain interpretations and opinions expressed by Lindsey Williams that I emphatically DO NOT ENDORSE. Among them are his views on the inspiration and inerrancy of the King James Version; the idea that certain Bible prophecies refer specifically to America; the idea that the elite can control the weather (the jury's still out on that one); the cultic view that the U.S. Constitution is an inspired scripture; etc.

Judgment on America? - 4

2010-06-22T11:19:00.001-04:00

Here is the next video in the series by Lindsey Williams.

A recent article by Gary North underscores the fact that insiders control the actions of the civil government from behind the scenes:

So, here we are again, with a banking reform

plan in front of Congress. If this bill passes, new

power will be given to the Federal Reserve System.

But wait! Wasn't the Federal Reserve System set up

in 1914 as the institution that would end recessions

as bad as the "bankers' panic" of 1907? Wasn't it

also given the authority to establish a stable

dollar? Then why have we had so many recessions?

Why has the dollar declined by 95%?

Every reform gives us more of the same. Every

reform promises to save capitalism from itself. It

then transfers more power to the Treasury

Department, which in 2008 became widely known as a

wholly owned subsidiary of Goldman Sachs.

Disclaimer:While I believe the information presented is primarily factual, I cannot guarantee everything predicted, nor can I be responsible for what you do with this information.

Also, there are certain interpretations and opinions expressed by Lindsey Williams that I emphatically DO NOT ENDORSE. Among them are his views on the inspiration and inerrancy of the King James Version; the idea that certain Bible prophecies refer specifically to America; the idea that the elite can control the weather (the jury's still out on that one); the cultic view that the U.S. Constitution is an inspired scripture; etc.

Judgment on America? - 3

2010-06-19T09:06:00.001-04:00

Here is the second installment of Lindsey Williams' inside information from one of the ruling elite:

Disclaimer:While I believe the information presented is primarily factual, I cannot guarantee everything predicted, nor can I be responsible for what you do with this information.

Also, there are certain interpretations and opinions expressed by Lindsey Williams that I emphatically DO NOT ENDORSE. Among them are his views on the inspiration and inerrancy of the King James Version; the idea that certain Bible prophecies refer specifically to America; the idea that the elite can control the weather (the jury's still out on that one); etc.

Judgment on America? - 2

2010-06-18T11:28:00.001-04:00

I found a condensed version of the material Lindsey Williams presented in January, 2010. Williams is a Baptist evangelist who served as a chaplain to Alaska oil pipeline.

During that time, he rubbed shoulders with oil executives, including some of the ruling elite of this country. To learn more about the ruling elite, email me, and I will allow you access to my blog, The Conspiratologist.

Over the years, a few members of the ruling elite have leaked information on their agenda to Williams, which has proved to be spot on. For that reason, I think you should listen carefully to the material presented in these videos.

I do not agree with all of Rev. Williams' interpretations, but I believe the information from his contacts represents the plans that the leaders of the Establishment have for us.

Together, the videos run less than an hour. I will present them in segments of less than ten minutes.Here is the video, disclaimer below:

Disclaimer:While I believe the information presented is primarily factual, I cannot guarantee everything predicted, nor can I be responsible for what you do with this information.

Also, there are certain interpretations and opinions expressed by Lindsey Williams that I emphatically DO NOT ENDORSE. Among them are his views on the inspiration and inerrancy of the King James Version; the idea that certain Bible prophecies refer specifically to America; the idea that the elite can control the weather (the jury's still out on that one); etc.

Judgment on America? -- Update

2010-06-17T10:30:00.000-04:00

In my previous post, I gave you a video based on insiders' information given to Lindsey Williams. I have since found an updated series of videos. When I am done reviewing them, I will begin to present them here.

Thanks for your patience.

Judgment on America?

2010-06-15T10:46:00.002-04:00

Evangelicaldom and evangelicaldumber do not talk much, if at all, about God's judgment in time and on earth. I remember, for example, Pat Robertson's declaration that God had nothing to do with Hurricane Katrina's devastation of that dissolute and effete city of New Orleans.

But God does judge the nations according to their response to the King whom He has anointed to rule them (see Psalm 2). America has been reaping judgment for many decades.

We tend to think that God will judge society for its moral corruption. In reality, God has given us up to moral corruption as part of His judgment on us for not acknowledging Him (see Romans 1:18ff).

(If you are a "god and country" kind of Christian it may be hard for you to grasp that the "one nation under God" phrase in the Pledge of Allegiance does not refer to the God of the Bible. It refers to a mythical god supposedly worshiped in common by Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, etc.)

Romans 1 describes a scale of corruption that inevitably destroys the fabric of society. In light of that, we may have reached a point where it's too late to escape the collapse of the West. I don't know.

But as the intensity of judgment increases, I am convinced that the only safe path through it and ultimately out of it lies in acknowledgment of and obedience to the King.

From my past knowledge of Lindsey Williams, I believe the video below sets forth a true representation of the final stages of the plans devised by those who have enslaved the American populace. Note that I did not say will enslave, but have enslaved.

We are that far gone that we neither recognize nor acknowledge the chains that bind us: immorality, financial debt and dependence on tax-funded programs. (Yes, I recognize my redundancy.)

I don't agree with all of Lindsey Williams' historical analysis. For example, he believes that the public schools started out as a good thing, whereas I know that they began as an effort by unitarians to seize control of education from trinitarian churches.

He also tries to make Noah Webster into a supporter of his own King-James-only beliefs. He evidently does not know that Webster revised the KJV to produce his own version of Scripture.

I also don't agree with Williams' dispensationalist spin on the events he discusses. The mark of the beast, and so on.

In spite of these areas of dispute, I believe God has put him into a unique position to give us an essentially accurate picture of the elitists' plans and their timetable. I hope it will be enough to lead some of God's people to repentance.

I will post the other videos, D.V., tomorrow and the day after.

Economic Meltup

2010-06-01T10:56:00.000-04:00

News Item You Won't See

2010-05-25T19:06:00.000-04:00

As we prepare to celebrate Memorial Day, look for news stories about students sent home from public school for wearing Mexican flag-type clothing or jewelry.

Pressure from Below and Pressure from Above

2010-05-22T14:52:00.004-04:00

The following quote comes from chapter 7 of Gary Allen's 1971 classic, None Dare Call It Conspiracy.

The American middle class is being squeezed to death by a vise. . . . In the streets we have avowed revolutionary groups such as the Students for a Democratic Society (which was started by the League for Industrial Democracy, a group with strong C.F.R. ties), the Black Panthers, the Yippies, the Young Socialist Alliance. These groups chant that if we don't "change" America, we will lose it. "Change" is a word we hear over and over. By "change" these groups mean Socialism. Virtually all members of these groups sincerely believe that they are fighting the Establishment. In reality they are an indispensible ally of the Establishment in fastening Socialism on all of us. The naive radicals think that under Socialism the "people" will run everything. Actually, it will be a clique of Insiders in total control, consolidating and controlling all wealth. That is why these schoolboy Lenins and teenage Trotskys are allowed to roam free and are practically never arrested or prosecuted. They are protected. If the Establishment wanted the revolutionaries stopped, how long do you think they would be tolerated?

Instead, we find that most of these radicals are the recipients of largesse from major foundations or are receiving money from the government through the War on Poverty. The Rothschild-Rockefeller-C.F.R. Insiders at the top "surrender to the demands" for Socialism from the mobs below. The radicals are doing the work of those whom they hate the most.

Just change the names of the radical groups, and you see the strategy has not changed. The street radicals cry for change (pressure from below), and the politicians in the Establishment's pocket grant them concessions.

The middle class, frightened by the radicals cries out to the Establishment politicos for "protection" which always entails a loss of freedom. The Establishment consolidates power (pressure from above). This has been going on since long before Allen published his book, and it's still going on today.

Defiance in the Face of Judgment

2010-04-22T10:10:00.000-04:00

The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel. And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart, The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars. Therefore the LORD shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against him, and join his enemies together; (Isa 9:8-11)

I do not endorse everything in the video below, but I think it makes some valid points. We are under the hand of God's judgment for our national sins, but we act pridefully as though we are somehow righteous & just before Him.

As you watch the video below take special note of how Tom Daschle and John Edwards both quoted from the passage, but entirely out of the context of God's judgment.

Oklahoma City Bombing

2010-04-20T16:19:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombing. Here's the official version, according to Wikipedia:

On April 19, 1995, McVeigh drove the truck to the front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building just as its offices and day care center opened for the day. Prosecutors said McVeigh ran away from the truck after he ignited two time fuses; one was a two-minute fuse and another was a backup of five minutes. At 9:02 a.m., a large explosion destroyed the north half of the building. The explosion was so powerful that McVeigh, who was jogging away from the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was lifted off the ground. The explosion killed 168 people and 450 were injured. Nineteen of the victims were small children in the day care center on the ground floor of the building.

Below is you will see a video that contains local news footage broadcast in the aftermath of the explosion. It disappeared down the memory hole after the Establishment's official story was promulgated by the national media.

The official story does not at all sound like the on-the-scene report, does it?

Obamacare: Who's to Blame?, 2

2010-03-29T08:31:00.001-04:00

My wife & I taught for 3 yrs in a "Christian" school that paid its teachers paupers' wages. One lady on the school board could not understand why we did not sign up for food stamps. She considered it a standard part of the school's compensation package.

Not all churches & ministries display such a blatantly unbiblical attitude, but they ignore Scripture's social injunctions in more subtle ways.

Below, is the second installment of Joel McDurmon's video discussion of the subject. (P.S. If you haven't already, don't forget to read the article.)

Obamacare: Who's to Blame?

2010-03-28T20:29:00.002-04:00

Democrats? Socialists? How about the Church?

In this article, Joel McDurmon says that if the church had been ministering to the poor & needy as Scripture says, there would be no vacuum for the Welfare State to fill.

The video below complements the article; it is not a substitute for it. (Please read the article.)

In both the video & the article, he comes down pretty hard on Martin Luther. My own position is to honor Luther for all that he got right, and to say we need to fill in the gaps where he may have goofed. (Christians in future centuries will hopefully do the same for us.)

Continued tomorrow.

The Second Wave: ARM's

2009-09-11T10:42:00.001-04:00

From now to the end of the year, an increasing number of adjustable rate mortgages (ARM's) will reset to higher interest rates. This will mean huge increases in monthly mortgage payments in a very tight economy. Many would-be homeowners will not be able to make those payments.

The video below shows a chart of when these ARM's are scheduled to reset. Pause the video there & study it.

The rate climbs from now to the end of 2009, and then it drops off a little in January/February 2010. Then it begins to expand at an almost exponential rate.

Since someone normally must fall three months behind before the bank forecloses, I would guess that we will see foreclosures begin to accelerate in January, 2010.

President Obama Addresses Public School Stucents

2009-09-05T09:22:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I took a poll on Facebook: "Should President Obama be allowed to do a nationwide address to school children without parental consent?" I voted "I don't care." My reason follows:

Craig Mutton voted 'I don't care' in the poll! There's no right way to do the wrong thing, and the godless, socialistic, statist school system is definitely the wrong thing. Parents who put their children there are getting just what they asked for (and what they've forced me to pay for).

Why do the majority of professing, "evangelical" Christians still render their children unto Caesar? We are to render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's.

The Christian's children belong to God (Psalm 127:3), not to Caesar.

If you're on the fence about this issue, read Gary North's "President Obama to Read My Pet Schools to America's Students on Tuesday, September 8". Not that it will make that much difference.

For most professing Christians, to buck the public-school tide in our society is too costly by far. Better to render God's heritage (their children) to Caesar than to incur the too-high price of discipleship.

One Single Payer System

2009-09-04T18:53:00.001-04:00

No commentary necessary:

Deficit Spending Video

2009-07-07T17:37:00.002-04:00

Thanks to Gary North for calling my attention to this video.

Will we crash before we get to the West coast?

Dilbert on The Economic Outlook

2009-07-06T10:24:00.003-04:00

Dilbert.com
A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.
(Pro 27:12)

Earn Money as a WARSKYL Affiliate

2009-06-24T00:11:00.004-04:00

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Freedom from Debt

2009-06-02T11:24:00.001-04:00

My wife & I have always viewed debt as an emergency situation. In almost forty years of marriage, we've borrowed money three times for cars and held two mortgages.

Two of the car loans were bad experiences that we hope not to repeat. We paid off both mortgages early, which means that we now "own" our house & property free and clear.

(I understand that in America, no one really owns his property, as it is subject to "rent" in the form of property tax, which if you do not pay, you will be evicted from "your" property. Thus, the civil authority owns all land & rents to those who think they own it.)

Since we do not struggle under a great burden of debt, we have done pretty well on a much lower income than the average American. We have also come to realize that we can buy pretty much anything within reason, IF we are willing to save up for it.

Many are not in that position. If that includes you or someone you know, you may be interested in a new website designed specifically to help Christians get out of debt:
deliverancefromdebt.com
There is no cost or fee involved to use the program which includes 12-week "Deliverance from Debt" course. Volunteer counselors are also available to advise and encourage those struggling with the debt-based lifestyle.

Pravda on American Communism

2009-06-01T15:33:00.001-04:00

An article by Mat Rodina in the online version of Russia's Pravda hits the nail on the head. It is about America's rapid descent from a quasi-free market into full-blown Marxism.

(WARNING: There may be nude photos on the page promoting other stories.)

Rodina has evidently done his homework, for he says,

. . . [T]he situation has been well prepared on and off for the past century, especially the past twenty years. The initial testing grounds was conducted upon our Holy Russia and a bloody test it was.

Those words tell me that he knows the connection between Wall Street and the Bolshevik Revolution. It would surprise me if more than a few of the readers of this blog know anything that reality.

He continues:

These past two weeks have been the most breath taking of all. First came the announcement of a planned redesign of the American Byzantine tax system, by the very thieves who used it to bankroll their thefts, loses and swindles of hundreds of billions of dollars. These make our Russian oligarchs look little more then ordinary street thugs, in comparison.

Modina also knows the power behind the Federal Reserve -- again, something that few Americans know or care about:

These men, of course, are not an elected panel but made up of appointees picked from the very financial oligarchs and their henchmen who are now gorging themselves on trillions of American dollars, in one bailout after another. They are also usurping the rights, duties and powers of the American congress (parliament). Again, congress has put up little more then a whimper to their masters.

He ends with a sad prediction:

The proud American will go down into his slavery with out a fight, beating his chest and proclaiming to the world, how free he really is. The world will only snicker.

This comes from a land where people know Communism when they see it.

The vast majority of Americans have no idea that this land has fallen to Communism, nor do they want to know.

Racist Nominated to Supreme Court

2009-05-26T16:52:00.002-04:00

President Obama has nominated Federal Appeals Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. According to the New York Times, Justice Sotomayor made the following racist (and sexist) statement:

“I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life,” said Judge Sotomayor . . . .

Surviving Swine Flu

2009-04-30T10:47:00.003-04:00

Over at The Conspiratologist I posted about the swine flu and power politics. (The Conspiratologist is an "invitation only" blog. If you'd like to be on the list, email me at gravelbelly@gmail.com.) Here, however, I'd like to address the swine flu in terms of preparedness.

First, in a pandemic situation, your stockpile of survival food & water may enable you to avoid contact with the contagion. John E. Peterson suggests,

When grocery shopping, try to do so on “off hours,” when fewer people are likely to be shopping. And while there, think long term and stock up on necessities that can get you by for a few weeks if need be. Remember, you may never need to actually use your “survival stock,” but if you do, you will need it desperately.

A physician I knew when I worked in a hospital once said that the great majority of contagious disease could be avoided by hand-washing. That's why Peterson's following comment stood out to me:

Practice good hygiene. Don’t go crazy on this, but at the same time take reasonable precautions. For example, keep a bottle of Purell or a similar hand sanitizer nearby and use it at logical times. What do I mean by that? For instance, if you go to a gas station, consider how many people in the last 24 hours have wiped their nose, etc. and then picked up the same gas pump handle that you just picked up. Don’t get me wrong. We all have to operate in the real world. But with the example I just gave, wouldn’t that be a good time to wash your hands with Purell if standard soap and water are not an option? I think so.

Michelle Cagan of the Health Sciences Institute put out a swine flu information letter several days ago. Some of the statistics are already out of date, but her conclusion is right on the money:

Your best defense – your only real defense in any flu season – is a bulletproof immune system.

Recent research has shown that Vitamin D is a vital key to resisting viral infection.

I am reproducing the body of Ms. Cagan's letter below:

With all the sensationalized news about the so-called swine flu flying around, I figured we'd better set all the facts straight.

So far, only 82 cases of so-called swine flu have been definitively identified worldwide, mostly in Mexico (26 confirmed, 7 deaths) and the U.S.(with 40 confirmed, no deaths). (Though about 1600 suspected cases, including 159 deaths, are reported in Mexico.) That does not add up to a pandemic swine flu outbreak.
This virus has nothing to do with swine. In fact, it hasn't been seen in a single animal. And you can't possibly get it from eating pork.
No existing vaccines can prevent this new flu strain. So no matter what you hear – even if it comes from your doctor – don't get a regular flu shot. They rarely work against seasonal flu…and certainly can't offer protection from a never-before- seen strain.
Speaking of this strain, it doesn't seem to have come on naturally. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), this particular strain has never before been seen in pigs or people. And according to Reuters, the strain is a 'genetic mix' of swine, avian and human flu. Was it created in a lab? We don't know yet.
The drug companies are getting excited…and that's never a good thing. According to the Associated Press at least one financial analyst estimates up to $388 million worth of Tamiflu sales in the near future – and that's without a pandemic outbreak.
Let's not forget that Tamiflu comes with its own problems, including side effects like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, dizziness, fatigue, cough…the very symptoms you're trying to avoid. And let's not forget that Japan banned this drug for children back in 2007, after links to suicidal behavior.
Vaccines for this flu strain probably won't have to jump through all those annoying hurdles like clinical trials for safety and effectiveness. That won't, however, stop the government from mandating the vaccine for all of us – a very likely scenario. And if the vaccines are actually harmful…killing people, for example…the vaccine makers will be immune from lawsuits.

Your best defense – your only real defense in any flu season – is a bulletproof immune system. You can learn about the best ways to strengthen yourself in the HSI archives.

Are Food Riots Possible?

2009-04-28T18:40:00.000-04:00

I thought this article posted over at rense.com might be of interest:

US Food Riots Much Closer Than You Think

(Note: Beware of some flaky ads at this site.)

We have some great looking tomato plants in, now, and we will soon have some beans in. My wife ordered cow pea seeds, because we can eat the beans & the vines are supposed to be as nutritious as grain for the goats. The Jerusalem Artichokes look good this year, and so do the fruit trees (should have a great crop of figs).

We have plenty of canning jars & are stocking up on lids. Also, there's the food dryer which provided us with dried apples through the winter. We plan to keep that going day & night, once the produce starts coming in.

Are you preparing?

Economic Survivalism

2009-04-24T08:02:00.000-04:00

Here is a link to an article by Judy Keen:

Economic Survivalists Take Root

When Money Is Worthless

2009-04-23T15:23:00.001-04:00

What happens in an economy where paper money is worthless? We, as a nation have not yet begun to reap the consequences of the inflationary policies of our leaders.

The video below shows what has happened in Zimbabwe, where merchants will no longer accept the worthless paper currency. Thanks to my cousin, Larry D. for calling my attention to this.

Carrying Cash = Suspicious Activity

2009-04-07T19:32:00.000-04:00

The feds issue it; you can't pay your taxes without it; you must accept it in payment for goods and services. But if some law enforcement officer thinks the amount you're carrying is "excessive", he will detain you.

This reminds me of the time I was with my riding with my brother in his motorhome in Tennessee. He got pulled over for a burnt out tail-light, and the police said, "You won't mind if we search your vehicle."

My brother stood his ground and said no, because we were both involved in direct sales at trade shows and had several thousand $$ in cash between us. We knew that if they found it, this would qualify us for suspicion as drug dealers.

Of course, they suspected us anyway, and they told us that if we didn't let them search, we must be hiding something. They detained us until their drug-sniffing dog arrived. The dog showed interest in the sewage pipe, but gave no indication of drugs, so the police let us go.

The following video comes from Judge Napolitano's "Freedom Watch" program:

I'm afraid these violations of freedom will become more frequent and more severe in the months ahead.

Letter to General Motors

2009-04-04T08:00:00.001-04:00

I received the following in an email, and I checked it out at snopes.com to verify its authenticity. It is for real. It seems that Gregory Knox of the Knox Machine Co. received the following from General Motors:

Dear Employees & Suppliers,

Congress and the current Administration will soon determine whether to provide immediate support to the domestic auto industry to help it through one of the most difficult economic times in our nation's history. Your elected officials must hear from all of us now on why this support is critical to our continuing the progress we began prior to the global financial crisis.

As an employee or supplier, you have a lot at stake and continue to be one of our most effective and passionate voices. I know GM can count on you to have your voice heard.

Thank you for your urgent action and ongoing support.
Troy Clarke
President,
General Motors North America

Knox sent the following letter in reply (some editing for language):

Gregory Knox, Pres.
Knox Machinery Company
Franklin , Ohio

Gentlemen:

In response to your request to contact legislators and ask for a bailout for the Big Three automakers please consider the following, and please pass my thoughts on to Troy Clarke, President of General Motors North America.

Politicians and Management of the Big 3 are both infected with the same entitlement mentality that has spread like cancerous germs in UAW halls for the last countless decades, and whose plague is now sweeping this nation, awaiting our new "messiah," Pres-elect Obama, to wave his magic wand and make all our problems go away, while at the same time allowing our once great nation to keep "living the dream." Believe me folks, The dream is over!

This dream where we can ignore the consumer for years while management myopically focuses on its personal rewards packages at the same time that our factories have been filled with the worlds most overpaid, arrogant, ignorant and laziest entitlement minded "laborers" without paying the price for these atrocities. This dream where you still think the masses will line up to buy our products for ever and ever.

Don't even think about telling me I'm wrong. Don't accuse me of not knowing of what I speak. I have called on Ford, GM, Chrysler, TRW, Delphi, Kelsey Hayes, American Axle, and countless other automotive OEM's throughout the Midwest , during the past 30 years and what I've seen over those years in these union shops can only be described as disgusting.
Troy Clarke, President of General Motors North America, states: "There is widespread sentiment throughout this country, and our government, and especially via the news media, that the current crisis is completely the result of bad management which it certainly is not."

You're right Mr. Clarke, it's not JUST management. How about the electricians who walk around the plants like lords in feudal times, making people wait on them for countless hours while they drag [kafafa] so they can come in on the weekend and make double and triple time for a job they easily could have done within their normal 40 hour work week. How about the line workers who threaten newbies with all kinds of scare tactics for putting out too many parts on a shift and for being too productive.
(We certainly must not expose those lazy bums who have been getting overpaid for decades for their horrific underproduction, must we?!?)

Do you folks really not know about this stuff?!? How about this great sentiment abridged from Mr. Clarke's sad plea: "over the last few years we have closed the quality and efficiency gaps with our competitors." What the [****] has Detroit been doing for the last 40 years?!? Did we really JUST wake up to the gaps in quality and efficiency between us and them? The K car vs. the Accord? The Pinto vs. the Civic?!? Do I need to go on? What a joke!

We are living through the inevitable outcome of the actions of the United States auto industry for decades. It's time to pay for your sins, Detroit .

I attended an economic summit last week where brilliant economist, Alan Beaulieu, from the Institute of Trend Research , surprised the crowd when he said he would not have given the banks a penny of "bailout money."

"Yes, he said, this would cause short term problems," but despite what people like politicians and corporate magnates would have us believe, the sun would in fact rise the next day and the following very important thing would happen. Where there had been greedy and sloppy banks, new efficient ones would pop up. That is how a free market system works. It does work if we would only let it work."

But for some nondescript reason we are now deciding that the rest of the world is right and that capitalism doesn't work - that we need the government to step in and "save us". Save us my [kafafa], [****] - we're nationalizing and unfortunately too many of our once fine nation's citizens don't even have a clue that this is what is really happening.

But, they sure can tell you the stats on their favorite sports teams. Yeah - THAT'S really important, isn't it.

Does it ever occur to ANYONE that the "competition" has been producing vehicles, EXTREMELY PROFITABLY, for decades in this country? How can that be??? Let's see. Fuel efficient. Listening to customers. Investing in the proper tooling and automation for the long haul.

Not being too complacent or arrogant to listen to Dr. W. Edwards Deming four decades ago when he taught that by adopting appropriate principles of management, organizations could increase quality and simultaneously reduce costs. Ever increased productivity through quality and intelligent planning. Treating vendors like strategic partners, rather than like "the enemy." Efficient front and back offices. Non union environment.

Again, I could go on and on, but I really wouldn't be telling anyone anything they really don't already know down deep in their hearts.

I have six children, so I am not unfamiliar with the concept of wanting someone to bail you out of a mess that you have gotten yourself into - my children do this on a weekly, if not daily basis, as I did when I was their age. I do for them what my parents did for me (one of their greatest gifts, by the way) - I make them stand on their own two feet and accept the consequences of their actions and work through it. Radical concept, huh. Am I there for them in the wings? Of course - but only until such time as they need to be fully on their own as adults.

I don't want to oversimplify a complex situation, but there certainly are unmistakable parallels here between the proper role of parenting and government. Detroit and the United States need to pay for their sins.

Bad news people - it's coming whether we like it or not. The newly elected Messiah really doesn't have a magic wand big enough to "make it all go away." I laughed as I heard Obama "reeling it back in" almost immediately after the final vote count was tallied. "We really might not do it in a year or in four." Where the [****] was that kind of talk when he was RUNNING for office.

Stop trying to put off the inevitable folks. That house in Florida really isn't worth $750,000. People who jump across a border really don't deserve free health care benefits. That job driving that forklift for the Big 3 really isn't worth $85,000 a year. We really shouldn't allow Wal-Mart to stock their shelves with products acquired from a country that unfairly manipulates their currency and has the most atrocious human rights infractions on the face of the globe. That couple whose combined income is less than $50,000 really shouldn't be living in that $485,000 home.

Let the market correct itself folks - it will. Yes it will be painful, but it's gonna' be painful either way, and the bright side of my proposal is that on the other side of it all, is a nation that appreciates what it has and doesn't live beyond its means and gets back to basics and redevelops the patriotic work ethic that made it the greatest nation in the history of the world and probably turns back to God.

Sorry - don't cut my head off, I'm just the messenger sharing with you the "bad news". I hope you take it to heart.

Gregory J. Knox, President
Knox Machinery, Inc.
Franklin , Ohio 45005

Slow Practice

2009-04-02T09:45:00.000-04:00

Three or four months ago, my wife returned to practicing her French horn after a hiatus of several years. She took a series of lessons from an excellent teacher to help her get back on track, and it has worked out very well.

In preparing her to play in church, he had her practice at a faster pace than she would actually have to play. That really helped, and she has improved measurably. I noticed, however, that she still misses a note here and there.

That got me to thinking about martial arts and self defense practice. When you want to improve a technique's precision, you practice it in slow motion.

I suggested to my wife that, since she seems to have adapted to the faster tempo, maybe once a day she should slow the piece way down and concentrate on hitting each note with precision. She said, "That's exactly what I need."

Here is a principle that I believe applies to more than martial arts and music. I think you could generalize it to include how you practice any or all of your vocational skills:

Increase the tempo for performance; decrease the tempo for precision.

Multi-Level Marketing: Business Opportunity or Scam, 3

2009-03-25T13:52:00.000-04:00

Continued from "Multi-Level Marketing: Business Opportunity or Scam, 2"

I continue under the assumption that I'm correct in concluding that the "pyramid" aspect of MLM is not a negative from a Biblical perspective. That leaves the question of whether you can find any MLM programs that don't use a lot of hype to recruit agents and that sell competitively-priced products.

Since the American advertising establishment thrives on hype -- e.g., using the right brand of shampoo will make you vibrant and attractive -- I don't know if we can actually find a company that doesn't use it. That leaves pricing.

I am aware of one MLM that sells products which a) just about everyone uses, b) market their products at competitive prices and c) offer A+ service.

Yes, I am an affiliate of this MLM, but I joined because it meets the aforementioned criteria. If you're curious, you can find out more here:

Online Webinar

If, after watching the presentation you think you'd like to sign up, then send an email to me at:
gravelbelly@gmail.com

It's not for everyone, so be sure it's what you want before you take the plunge.

MAPP & Your Resume

2009-03-20T09:27:00.000-04:00

The following article came from a recent MAPP newsletter. I highly recommend that you take this free test.

Maybe it’s due to all the layoffs in the news, but lately I’ve
been getting emails from members asking how they can use MAPP to
update their resume. Let me respond by sharing how one of our
members did it.

Nancy wanted a job that she would enjoy. She realized that if a
job offered what she was already motivated to do, then the odds
were high that she’d love it. She also knew that the key was a
resume that reflected her motivations as well as her accomplishments.
Here’s how she did it.

First, she went through her MAPP and highlighted her top six traits;
the ones with the highest scores. Here’s what she found:

Change and variety: accept, utilize, cause change
Provide service dedicated to the interest of others
Literary and/or communicative orientation
Supervise: plan, manage work activity of others
Mentor: size up people, personalities, motives
Creative literary, communicative ability

Next she wove these traits into a Summary for the top of her resume.
When she was finished she was delighted. For the first time in her life
she was able to describe both what she enjoys and does best. She also
knew that if these traits weren’t important to an employer,
she would probably be bored in the position. Here’s Nancy Summary:

A goal-oriented professional who willingly accepts responsibility
for planning, assigning and supervising work activities. Thrives on
change and knows how to capitalize on it. Personal satisfaction
comes from helping others and uses strong communication skills to
express ideas, key concepts, growth and gain in the lives of others
and interacting with customers.

Finally, she turned her attention to the accomplishments listed in
the body of her resume. She made sure that they validated and
reinforced the traits mentioned in her Summary.

Friends told her that this type of resume wouldn’t appeal to every
hiring manager. That’s exactly what she was counting on. She didn’t
want any job. She wanted a job that was a good fit for her. And that
is what she got!

We learned from Nancy’s lead. If a Motivational Summary section on
her resume helped her land a job that she loves, other people, like
you, may find it useful too. By taking your top 6 motivations, we can
create a Motivational Qualities Report designed so that you can copy
and paste the statements onto the top of your resume. The Motivational
Qualities Report is complimentary with the purchase of the Career Seeker
or Executive Packages. Upgrade to one of these packages now.
http://www.assessment.com

Try it! Use your Motivational Qualities Report to create a great resume.
These packages also include additonal tests so you can further evaluate
your career path.

Multi-Level Marketing: Business Opportunity or Scam, 2

2009-03-19T11:39:00.000-04:00

Continued from "Multi-Level Marketing: Business Opportunity or Scam"

One of the criticisms leveled at MLM plans is that they are "pyramid schemes". That is, that if you recruit five people, and they each recruit five people who, in turn recruit five people, and so on . . . you will soon run out of people. It's obvious that we can't all get rich recruiting other people, since people are a finite quantity.

It's true that MLM markets reach a saturation point at which growth must slow down. Of course, that's true of companies that enter any market. Early explosive growth tapers off.

But that does not mean that stagnation is inherent in the nature of MLM. Amway, for example has been going strong for many decades. How is this possible?

You must take into account the fact that since the days shortly after Noah, new people have been born every day. That means new people who are looking for opportunities come of age every day.

This, of course was part of God's plan from the beginning.

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. (Gen 1:27-28)

Please understand, I'm NOT saying that the Dominion Mandate was a Multi-Level Marketing plan. But God's blueprint for dominion required an expanding population. As the number of people increased (geometrically), each generation would subdue a larger portion of the earth.

Mankind would reach total dominion at the same time that its population reached a saturation point.

The bottom line here, is not that MLM is inherently bad or that the concept won't work. The problem lies in overpriced products and massive hype. I want to address those issues in another post.

Multi-Level Marketing: Business Opportunity or Scam

2009-03-12T10:12:00.000-04:00

I have been involved in several multi-level marketing (MLM) operations over the years, including the granddaddy of them all, AMWAY. I never did well at them, and I tend to be dismissive toward things I'm not good at.

The whole MLM premise is that if you have a great product, you can not only profit from selling it, you can share in the profits of others whom you recruit to sell it. You also get a return from those whom the others recruit, and so on. These folks are called your downline.

Thus, if you recruit three people, and they each recruit three people, you have twelve people in your downline. Each generation of recruits [theoretically] increases geometrically.

The operational word here is theoretically. Of course, if everyone succeeded at recruiting, you'd soon run out of people. But that aspect does not bother me as much as another.

The fact is that most people will not recruit anyone. And those who do seem to need regular doses of hype to keep them motivated. In order to succeed, they must surrender their lives and personalities to the program.

Those who aspire to MLM success must eat, sleep & breathe their company line. There may be exceptions, but most MLM programs encourage -- indeed, require -- total immersion in the program's culture to attain success.

You can find one of tne of the reasons for this in the product's pricing. MLM products are, on the whole, more expensive than comparable products in the marketplace. They have to be, in order to pay commissions all the way up the line.

Does this mean that multi-level marketing is inherently bad? More on that in my next post.

Post-Collapse Survival, 6b

2009-03-07T20:04:00.000-05:00

Continued from "Post-Collapse Survival, 6a"

Here is the that second segment of part 6. I should also include that I found the blogsite of the man whom I believe to have originally written all this. It's all unedited by me, so you're on your own:

Surviving in Argentina

[POST-CRISIS] DRIVING

Get yourself comfortable and fix yourself a cup of coffee because this is one long subject that calls for a book of its own. I’ll do my best to synthesize and tell how driving changed after the economical collapse. As always, crime directly affects the way you will drive after [the crisis]. As will the price or availability of spare parts determine what car should you get. Another factor to consider is that, as I said before services will suffer in quality after [society begins to unravel]. This means that roads will no longer be what they used to be.

People that live in 1st world countries are used to well kept streets and roads. Let me tell you, after only a few months of no maintenance, street will look as if bombed from an airplane. Rain and temperature difference destroys the pavement very fast.
Right now in Buenos Aires there are holes in the street the size of trucks. There were cases of cars actually falling inside these craters, so you can imagine the conditions streets are in.

A low car, designed for perfect pavement should be avoided as much as possible. That’s why I said that if I could do everything all over again I would get a 4x4 SUV.
This doesn’t mean that you should buy a huge 4x4 truck to drive around the city all day long. That’s not very practical and you do need a fast, easy to maneuver vehicle that can get out of problems fast. A medium size SUV should be the ticket for both agility and 4x4 power. Getting stuck in a roadblock because your truck is to d*** big to maneuver around it, then what’s the use of the 4x4?

There are many options out there. The small Suzuki 4x4 are good options, though a little bit fragile for my taste, maybe a Jeep Wrangler would be better. Anyway, just keep in mind that your vehicle should be a compromise between speed, ease of maneuver or agility, and 4x4 traction.

Ok, so now you spent some hours on the Internet, searched for the best option, and you bought your brand new [post-catastrophe] 4x4 car. Now what? Is that it? Unfortunately no. Choosing the right vehicle gives you the tool, but you now have to learn how to use it, and it’s not exactly what you learned when you got your driver's license, as a matter of fact, it’s quite the opposite. I can read your mind “Go to sleep FerFAL. You are burned out and you make no sense” Let me explain.

Close your eyes. Look inside you. Find that little politically correct driver guy inside you, the one that was born the day you learned how to drive. You see him? Good! Grab him before he sneaks away. Now hit him, choke him, and kill that little PC driver guy inside you. I killed mine a couple of years ago. It took me about 2 years to drive the way I do now, to react without thinking. What does it mean? I no longer flinch, or stir the wheel when something comes close to the car; I keep driving as if nothing happens. A dog runs in front of the car and I don’t move an inch, a ball hits the windshield and nothing. I killed the little PC guy inside me, the one that used to say” Watch out! You are going to hit something/someone! Turn the other way!”. Reacting like that can get you killed after [the collapse].

Guys, you have to prepare for people throwing objects at your car, standing themselves in front of the vehicle so that you stop or crash against a light/tree/whatever, so that they can rob you. It takes time and determination, but you MUST get to a point where if the windshield blows in you can continue driving as best as you can, if someone puts twisted nails on the road and blows your tires, you keep calm and keep driving, always keep driving no matter what, until you get to a gas station or other place safe. Especially at night, or early morning you have to keep the car moving all the time. Of course this is not always possible. Sometimes there is too much traffic and you have to stop. In this case, slow down before you get to the cars, and keep the car moving slowly until the light changes, in order to always keep the car moving. Never cut away your own escape routes by getting too close to the car in front. Leave at least 5 meters or so in front of you, so that you have enough place to maneuver.

At night, no one stops at red lights in Buenos Aires. That’s why many districts decided to turn the traffic light to a permanent yellow at night, in order to reduce car accidents. There are places in Buenos Aires where you don’t stop at the traffic lights all day long. Today, when I was retuning from the University at 1.30 PM, I passed a red light right in front of a police patrol car. The cop didn’t say a word. He understands that no one stops on the Dark road (the road I take back home) unless it’s inevitable. This won’t happen over night. It will take at least a few months after [the crash] until cops and authorities understand the new reality of the country. Even now, there are those that may stop you from crossing on a red light at night. But most patrol cars will understand, even crossing the red light themselves.

Another variable that has to be dealt with on the street is people. People that live in 1st world countries have little problems and low stress compared to guys that don’t know where they are going to get money to feed their families next week, or when they are going to finally find a job. Fights among drivers in 1st world countries may end up in the beating of someone in the worst-case scenario. Over here, people are so nervous and aggressive that many times people kill each other. This should not be ignored guys, if [it all collapses], the sheep will turn aggressive and might be dangerous. They will usually start a fight over a minor problem, just because they are nervous, or angry at the world. You can still get beaten to death with a bat or bare hands, you know? You car weaponry should take all of this into consideration. A handgun should be with you at all times, but it may be excessive for dealing with a mad driver. A bat and pepper spray will be enough to face an unarmed attacker, most times. I keep one canister of pepper spray and a small bat in my car at all times, apart from the 9mm pistol I may be carrying.

The pepper spray car tactic is the following:

1) Idiot driver starts a fight over XYZ.

2) Mad driver chases you, honking the horn, flashing lights and insulting.

3) I slow down, and let him place the car next to mine

4) 9 out of 10 times, the mad driver will lower the passenger window to insult you the better.

5) That’s when you grab the can of pepper spray, lower your own window as if for insulting and you spray him into his own car by surprise.

This will ensure that the mad driver will stop chasing you, and you prevent an even more violent episode where you would end up using lethal force. I had more than a couple of problems myself with other drivers. One Saturday night a guy in an armored truck chased me for several blocks, flashing lights and staying on my tail. I don’t know if he was mental, or on drugs, drunk or if he wanted to rob me. In this case having a smaller faster car allowed me to escape the nut driver. In another occasion a driver broke my right mirror. One time a guy got out of his car on a red light and started hitting my car. Of course, I didn’t get off the car. That would have been stupid and dangerous. What did I do? I had left some space between my car and the one on front. They guy was kicking my car on the right side. I put the gear on reverse, catching the guy between my car and his, and rolled him between the two like a [. . .] burrito. The guy fell to the ground, I never knew how bad he was hurt or not. I suppose that not too bad, because my car didn’t even show a small bump or dent, so it couldn’t have applied much force to the man’s body. I don’t care much, either. After going on reverse for a few meters, I shifted to 1st, turned left and left the place.

You should get to know your car and what it’s capable of. 180 degree turns using the hand brake isn’t that hard and after a day or two of practicing it you should be able to do it easily. If someone is chasing you and the situation is serious, suddenly hitting the brakes will bust the chasing car’s front, ruining the radiator and engine. You’ll crash you back side but your car will still work, his won’t.

Cars blocking the road (kidnapers, thieves) should be avoided with a 180 degree turn, or going on reverse fast and turning using the regular foot brake can also achieve an almost 180 degree turn. If you can’t go back because they have cars cutting the road there too, don’t crash your car as fast as you can “As seen on TV”. What you should do is: SLOWLY, place the front bumper of your car against the back wheel axis of the car blocking the road (they usually place the car ACROSS the road to cover more area) and accelerate. The trunk compartment, the back part of the car, isn’t nearly as heavy as the front part where the engine is, so it should turn quite easily when you accelerate. Shooting your handgun while maneuvering will keep them away from you while you do this.

These are just a couple of defensive driving techniques. If possible, take some defensive-dissuasive driving classes. They are almost as important as shooting classes, in my opinion. Almost forgot. As many, I like hearing music when driving, and I used to set it rather loud. I quickly found out this isn’t the smartest thing to do, since you can’t hear what is going on around you; shooting, people screaming, a car running out of control, for example. Keep the volume low so as to listen to what’s going on around you. Or turn it off completely if you are in a high risk area.

Of course windows and doors must be closed at all times. Also try to keep at least half a tank full worth of gas in jerry cans. There are times when a roadblock will force you around alternative roads that you didn’t count on. Extra fuel is nice to have. If room in the vehicle is an issue, have at least one small can. And, as always, keep eyes on the road. But not only for other cars and people, but for bumps on the street (that can sometimes be like craters) or rocks and other objects bad guys may put so as to make you crash or force you to stop. Your eyes should be focused much further away most of the time, so as to anticipate to this.

Post-Collapse Survival, 6a

2009-03-05T13:42:00.002-05:00

I have located Part 6 of the "Urban Survival" series by an Argentinian who lived through the 2001 crash & its aftermath in that country. It is somewhat longer than even the other installements, so I am breaking it into two parts (a&b). Part 6a follows.

I suppose I should mention that in this, as in other installments, there may be certain legal/ethical recommendations that I do not necessarily endorse.

PART VI

MORE ON SECURITY: KIDNAPPING

The theory behind kidnapping is simple to explain, yet it evolved into a complicated issue that presents itself in several forms and the survivalist should understand to better defend his family and himself. The way kidnapping just popped out of nowhere is astonishing, to say the least. One day kidnapping for money is almost unheard of, and within a couple of months, after the economical collapse, everyone starts getting kidnapped. The news report of about 3 or 5, sometimes even 10 kidnaps in one day in Buenos Aires city.

As time went by, the news dropped the issue and you don’t hear much about people being kidnapped any more. Does this means that the kidnaps stopped? I don’t think so. I still hear about people getting kidnapped in my own neighborhood, express kidnaps (I’ll explain later). Since my neighborhood is “nice” compared to most of Buenos Aires, I can only conclude that kidnapping is still VERY popular, but that the media isn’t reporting about it any more because of obvious political reasons. Why did kidnaps start in the first place? In a country where there were nearly 0 cases?
Because since the economy crashed, suddenly there where lots of poor people that didn’t have enough money to feed their families. This was the main reason, but not the only reason though. After the first riots and looting, it was quite obvious that the government and police had no true control of what was going on. Obviously they were overwhelmed.

Once the veil of crime=jail is lifted and people comprehend that they will not be punished for their crimes, it’s the beginning of the end, people. All of a sudden, bank robbery, stealing, kidnapping and murdering people is just a matter of personal moral values, nerve and determination, and punishment is almost left out of the equation.

1) The first kind of kidnap to appear was the most common one. People were intercepted, either when walking or driving, by the band of kidnappers. Well organized bands of at least 5 or 6 members, with battle rifles, SMG’s and communications, intercept the victim with at least 2 cars.

Do not be mistaken; these guys know what they are doing. In most bands you will likely find a LEO gone bad that decided to increase the poor cop salary the gov. pays.
The victim is taken to a far away location in one of the many extremely poor neighborhoods in Buenos Aires. They call asking for a ransom, a ridiculously high one, and the negotiation starts. The person is held for a few days, maybe even a couple of weeks. If a month goes by and the person doesn’t show up, forget about it, he’s already dead. Some times they torture him too much, covered his mouth with tape “As seen on TV” and the victim chocks to death, dies of heart or health complications or they just get scared of getting caught and shoot the poor guy. They get scared of getting caught not because of the police efficiency, but because most of the time one of the kidnappers KNOWS the victim. Either an employee, friend, neighbor or relative that knows that X person has money available for Y reason, either he is already wealthy, or he sold or inherited and has a large sum of cash available. These kinds of kidnap are generally very gruesome, with tapes of the victim being tortured sent to the family, fingers getting cut and other creative means of encouraging the family to pay. Survivability of this kind of kidnap is about 60%-70%, give or take. Not good.

2) The second kind of kidnap is called “Express kidnap” because it occurs fast, a smaller amount of money is asked as ransom, so that the family can come up with it within an hour or so, and if everything goes as planed the victim is released with an hour or two. This is, by far, the most popular kind of kidnap we see today in my country. Even police advise you to pay and get over with when they ask for small ransoms. The victim is chosen randomly, because of the way he/she dresses, because he/she seems to be easy to control and dominate and isn’t likely to resist the attack.

Kidnapers found out that this low profit, but fast, low risk kind of kidnap is very profitable in the long run, and does not involve the complicated and expensive logistic of long term kidnaps, where you need a place to keep the victim, feed him, someone to watch over him 24/7 , etc.

The victim of an “express kidnap” rarely leaves the car/van he/she was pulled into. The [victim's] survivability is much greater than in the 1st kind of kidnap, I’d say about 90%. This doesn’t mean that the victim is in good hands. Girls are raped by the gang most of the time. Men may fare a little better, probably get beaten up a little if they are problematic. The chances of surviving are greater because kidnapers don’t know the victim most of the time, they don’t have time to worry about the “what if’s” get scared and decide to get rid of the victim, and because police is almost never involved in them. As I said, when small sums of money are asked for they recommend to just pay.

3) The third kind of kidnap isn’t nearly as dangerous as the previous ones, but you should still know about it to prepare of it better. After all, it’s all about preparing and covering as many scenarios as possible, right? “Virtual kidnaps” caught all of us by surprise. It consists on someone knowing that a wealthy person is going to be “away from town” or unable to communicate for a certain period of time and taking advantage of it. They will call the family and say that X person has been kidnapped and that they have 30-60 minutes or sometimes more to pay( depending on the time the person will be unable to communicate) The family, unable to get in contact with the family member pays, only to later realize that it was all a scam.

Some [opportunitsts] even took advantage of real kidnaps, pretending to be the kidnapers and asking for ransom before the real kidnapers got in contact. This kind of “virtual kidnap” isn’t as popular anymore, though some get caught every now and them. Most smart people make sure they always know where family members are and communicate with cell phones or tell each other when they wont be available to prevent these situations.

I dedicated some time to the kidnap issue because I firmly believe that if your country goes through an economical crisis for any given reason, desperate immoral people will find out about the fine art of kidnapping soon enough and Americans may have to face this kind of threat, which they are not used to. I personally know a man that escaped his kidnappers 3 times. Once he escaped through the roofs, by removing some sheet metal in the room, and the other two he jumped out of the moving vehicle. You must think the man is 7 feet tall, all muscle, and trained with some of the best defensive schools… Of course not. He’s a short, stocky, barrel chest fellow, now in his 50s that looks like a neighborhood Italian butcher.

This man’s weapons of choice? A frag grenade and a 357 revolver. He had the grenade rolling inside the car floor among the pedals the last time I heard of him. The thing would get caught under the pedals and at least once he crashed his car because of it.
He once even shot his own mother on the hip with the 357 magnum. A patient had escaped from a mental institution and broke into the woman’s house from the back yard. The old woman called his sons and the first to arrive was “grenade guy”. As soon as he entered the house he saw the man and shot him without saying a word, missed and wounded his mother in the hip. The poor escaped patient froze right were he stood when he heard the shot.

Right after this, the woman’s other son arrived and saw his mother bleeding on the floor next to his brother, and thought that the nut case had hurt her. Thank God they stopped him before he blew the poor man’s head off. This man obviously knows nothing about the proper equipment and defensive tactics, but hey! Anyone that escapes kidnapers 3 times has my respect. So, what can we learn from this?: That even though your weapons of choice may be a little “exotic” or even down right inappropriate, DETERMINATION, MENTAL ATTITUDE, ( along with a nice dose of good old luck) is enough to make the difference. The training helps a lot, and so does the gear, but in the end it’s all about attitude.

This man gets a 0 when it comes to weapons, shooting skills and tactics, but it’s all about proper survival mentality. He’s quite the SSS (shoot, shovel and shut up guy) and for sure has a few dead bad guys on his debt, not that I’ll ever know anything about that. He managed to survive and excel in a rough business, the recycling of paper, where they deal with paper scavengers, which are not exactly Berkley college boys, if you get my meaning. His recycling company made him and his family very rich, specially now, that there are lots of poor people that scrounge paper and cardboard to survive.

Bragging about the people you kill is not a good survival attitude, and should be avoided. Seriously, if you have problems keeping your mouth shut when it comes to stuff like this, do some serious soul searching and change it. Same goes for new guns, large food supplies or new equipment you may be proud of. The word gets around fast so keep it to yourself.

And this takes us back to the kidnapping issue.

“My Scout/Squad M1A1 looks SO cool! And it shoots like a champ. They cost a fortune right now, but I was smart enough to buy it before the economy crash back in XXXX! ” You tell your mechanic, a guy you’ve known for years. Now, the guy that your friend just hired, who just happened to overhear the conversation, him you never met before. Neither do you know that he’s a problematic kind of guy that has drug problems and is always looking for expensive stuff to sell.

You are also clueless when you are held at gunpoint some days later, just when you were leaving to the office, and the first thing the guy says is “I want the guns”.
So, what can you do to protect you family and yourself from kidnappers?

1) Keep you mouth shut about everything that has economical value, or your family’s schedule. Especially be careful around people that have economical problems or drug problems, people that always need cash. Don’t trust your employees with internal business affairs. Remember, most of the time the informant is someone close to the victim.

2) Keep a low profile. I know people that even though they have the money to buy any car they want, they stick to common low profile cars. Even the private school I went to when I was a kid that has its own mandatory uniform, encouraged parents to send kids wearing regular clothes instead. Kids dressed in private school uniforms where being kidnapped all over the place.

3) Learn evasive driving. Never allow cars to cut off escape routes. Again, the use of body armor may make the difference between escaping a well organized kidnap or not.

Post-Collapse Survival, "8" (Q&A)

2009-03-03T14:05:00.001-05:00

We are nearing the end of this series. I would be interested to see your comments on whether you thought this was helpful or not. This series originally appeared at frugalsquirrels.com

This post is a compendium of questions posted to FerFal and his answers, collected over a few years. Read it as such.

================================================== ============================

[ October 29, 2005, 12:59 PM: Message edited by: ferfal ]

--Now, the author answers some questions--

Thanks everyone.

Packinup, I actually started to write on the development of gray/black market but I didn’t finish it, need to work on it a little more. I’ll include it on the second part.

I consider it gray market because, even though some of the products are stolen or illegal imitations of brand names, these markets have turned out to be so popular that they are guarded private security and sometimes even police. Police taking care of a market that deals with stolen or illegal imitation products… who would have known…

On your second question: YES!! You have to be very, very careful. Keep everything to yourself.

For example, I dress with unknown brand clothes, even though I have lots of quality brand clothes, just because a little crocodile, Calvin Klein or New Man logo on your shirt can turn you into a victim. Even talking with a friend on the street about money is dangerous, the streets have ears. A relative living abroad is something you should never talk about openly, since kidnapers are always looking for good victims that can get hold of euros or US dollars.

ProGlock: electric power comes and goes, that’s what I mean when I say that services suck. Some parts of the power grid are worse than others. The apartment I used to live in was a disaster; I’d spend 2 or 3 hours every one or two days without light. Now I’m living in what used to be my parents house (moved to Spain) and it;s perfect because it’s interconnected with 3 different grid branches, even though one goes off, the others may still work. I sometimes have light while my neighbors spend hours without light.

Don’t be confused about the cable TV stuff, almost everyone has cable (within city limits, of course). Some poor people, they just connect themselves illegally (I don’t, I pay for my cable) but I’m talking about wooden shacks with no tap water connection or gas, that have a Direct TV satellite dishes or they connect themselves illegally. I should get a picture of this so you understand it better, promise I’ll try to get one next week.

By the way, the last cable employee that tried to cut them off, got out of the place with no fingers…
Same goes for light, they just connect themselves illegally, companies figured out that they better lose some profit and not employees hands and fingers…

Absolutely, cash is king. And US Dollars and Euros are King of Kings. Just don’t display them in public too much or you wont live very long. That is why I recommend you guys to keep some Euros, just in case. Our local paper money lost its value (to USD) when the economy crashed in 2001 (lost 2/3 of its original value)

[Since we are facing a worldwide crisis, I'm not sure that investing in foreign currency would do much good -- Gravelbelly]

Quality health services are expensive for most, and they adjusted to the new value of money accordingly, meaning they almost kept to USD prices. You can pay for these with USD.

Gold and Silver did hold their value of course, but they are not used to buy goods and services, besides, displaying a gold coin in a public market is as good as committing suicide.

[Gold & silver are an excellent store of value that can permit you to make capital investments in the recovery phase. Other than that, use your discretion -- Gravelbelly]

Don’t prepare for an idiot shooting a rifle at you from 200 yards away, prepare for the sneaky son of a gun that waits until you are distracted, fed the dogs some nice pills, and gets to you when you least expect him. THAT is much more likely than someone attacking you from 200 yards away.

I didn’t mean it as an insult to anyone, I’m well aware that there are cases of people shooting enemies 1000 yards away. That is war. Killing someone that wants you dead before he gets close to you is perfectly logical.
Please name me one case of self defense where the person shot the bad guy 100 yards away.

I had a guy try to steal my car a while ago while visiting a friend at his farm.

I saw the guy next to my car about 300 meters away. I had my FAL PARA with me, since we where going to spend some time shooting that morning.

I could have shot that guy from a safe distance, right? But you can’t do that in real life. People that shoot others 300 meters away for no reason, claiming self defense, are called psychos. I had to fold my rifle, hide it under my coat, walk to where my car and the guy where, and ask him what he wanted. When he said that he was there to take the car I leveled my FAL at him, and as it usually happens in real life, the guy almost pissed his pants, and left, babbling some [nonsense] story I no longer remember.

If someone starts shooting at you from 300 yards away, and you shoot back in self defense, that’s ok, but that rarely, if ever, happens.
Any bad guy that has survived through puberty will be smart enough to get close, very close, maybe when you are distracted with some chore/fieldwork and point a gun at you, asking you to calm down and walk into the house.

No way can you know what a man’s intentions are 200 yards away, unless he starts shooting at you like an idiot. And if he wants you dead that bad, he will get close enough and make sure that that one shot is the last thing you hear on this planet.

As I said, dogs are the best alarm on the field, though those too can be eliminated, as it happened to my friend. A shame by the way, they were nice dogs.

But if your idea of a self defense plan is shooting anyone that happens to be within your 200 yard range, do as you wish. You will not have to worry much about survival; State penitentiary will provide all you need.
It is one thing to go to war, and it is another, completely different, to live your life in a [post-crash crisis] situation.

When you deploy in a war zone, you set yourself mentally to do a job, when the job is done, you return home, you turn the mental combat switch off.

You cannot live your entire life as if you were in combat, it’s impossible.
I’m as alert as I can be, all day long, and all night. Thanks to that I kept my family and myself safe, while everyone else I know has at least been involved in one or more violent crimes. I’m so wired up that the slightest sound will make [me] jump out of bed at night and have my pistol ready even before I’m conscious of what I’m doing.

My house is the only one in the block that has not been broken into, my wife and son are safe, safer than all the other stupid sheep that blame God for whatever happens to them, and do nothing to prevent it themselves.

But still, you have to live your life, go to work, go to the supermarket… live a life! Do everyday stuff.
The stress of living that way will be the end of you, I’m 26 years old and already have problems related to high stress like high blood pressure, migraines, insomnia, etc.

I live in Buenos Aires city, on the south part, where houses are placed consecutively, sharing the wall on the right and left, all around the block. Most houses in my neighborhood have gardens and swimming pools. Gardens are also separated by walls, unlike the American style were you can simply walk from one garden to another.

Keep in mind that this has always been a 3rd world country, meaning that though our economical reality was completely different before the 2001 crisis, security in Latin America has always been an issue.

“You mentioned that your home has been the only one in your block not burglarized, what do you attribute this to? Is someone always at home?”

My house is particularly safe because it has a 7 foot iron fence with 1 foot long spikes where the property meets the sidewalk.
There is also a small garden between the house and the fence. The house’s second story has barred windows as well.
Anyone that wants to break in has to jump the fence (risky, a kid that forgot the keys to his house and tried to jump a similar fence in my neighborhood, was found lifeless by his parents, still impaled on the fence) and break the door or the bars on the windows.
Shooting someone trying to break the door or bars would be like fishing in a barrel.

The fence would stop a group of people enough to shoot them down. A large, well armed group would be needed to break into my house if I’m in it.

The alarm also helps (needs to be upgraded by the way). Surprisingly, we did spend a lot of time out of the house, sometimes for 3 or 4 weeks, but I guess other houses are easier to break into.

My next door neighbor is a widow with children. I know that a couple of times they broke into her house and raped her and her girls.
There is another family in my block that has a private security guard (not effective against determined criminals in my opinion since they lack training and proper weapons). Still, a couple of guys broke into that house and abused of the wife one evening. I suppose that they now take security more seriously.

“Have you been able to form any kind of mutual aid agreements with your neighbors? That is to say, your neighbors will help you if you are in need and you will help them if they are.”

No, they are sheeple and have sheep mentality. At best, they organize to pay for private and police security, which I do, but that is only good against small time thieves.

I did offer my help to my next door neighbor, the one with the girls that got raped.

I told her that if anything happens again she should call me or scream. I have to worry about my own family, but I just can’t stand that kind of stuff happening next to my house.

Besides, she’s a widow, her husband died shortly after they married. I know that I have to be alive to help my OWN family, but we will all die some day. I’m a Catholic and I will not have animals raping people next to my house and do nothing about it. How could I explain that to the Lord, not doing anything? Leaving a woman with no husband and her daughters in the hands of animals and do nothing?

I wont risk myself unnecessarily, I don’t have any hero delusions, but I’ll make an exception in this case if I ever have to hold true to my word and what I believe in.

“Have you put any effort into building a fortified room in your home for your family to fall back to in case of home invasion? What are your thoughts on this?”

Wish I had a “safe room”, but I just don’t have the money right now for one. The house is still very solid, with independent reinforced concrete structure and double brick walls. Not much protection against sustained rifle fire, but enough for pistol rounds and some random rifle rounds. Combined with the steel barred windows, it’s practically impossible for someone to break in when we are inside. They would make a lot of noise, and need a lot of time to pry open the bars. Not likely to happen if I’m shooting at them from the inside.

What I fear the most is someone pulling a gun at me or my wife when we enter or exit the house.

“If you did have a generator how could you prevent it from being stolen in your circumstances?”
The generator would be safe if I put it in the back garden.

Carrying pistols: Brother Silicon, don’t worry about it. My government has no control of this country, nor can they care less about what we citizens think about it, as long as politicians can steal as much as they want, they are cool with your beliefs, that’s probably why we got here in the first place. This country is one big bad joke! Can you believe that the actual president has a logo for his that says “For a serious country” They are accepting that the country is not serious! I try to be discrete in my city, just because I fear information on my guns getting to the wrong people, magazine fed center fire rifles are almost impossible to obtain these days, even in the black market, so I keep quiet about it.

Night vision goggles would be an excellent addition, specially if you live in the country.

About trees and bushes near the house. Absolutely right. My friend, the one that has a farm, had all trees near the house cut down, at least 50-60 yards. He had some nice, big trees, but he said that people would sneak around the property, some even went there for the wood.

Do you imagine shooting someone in your property, in the middle of the night, because they snuck in to get some wood?

The electronic gate opener is an excellent idea.

Silencers are not common and are illegal. I’m not sure about those home made, maybe they are good maybe they are not, I suppose it depends on the quality of the materials used and the ability of the builder. The most common kind of suppressor is made for .22 rifles and pistols. 9mm suppressors made by out Military Factories (FM) are of excellent quality and (if you use sub sonic 9mm) you only hear the bolt slam each time you pull the trigger.

The advantage of such a device, combined with a SMG or sub rifle, are obvious once you realize the need for discretion. Consider that once [catastrophe strikes,] gun laws are likely to change, and not for good. The government will do everything they can in their desperate attempt to regain control of the country. A sound suppressor will allow you to hunt, practice, kill pests, and maybe even take care of some two legged pests that might represent a threat to you or your family.

You are right about the one religion, one race, thing. Even though there are some Muslims and other minorities, they are too few to create a social-racial group on its own. They are completely integrated into the white Catholic culture.

“Is the government still paying veterans benefits to retired military solders?”

I’m not sure, war veterans had to fight a lot to get paid. As far as I know those that were disabled do receive a small benefit, though it is not nearly enough to survive.

“What percentage of the population in your country was on government funded support before and the crash?”
0%, remember this is a 3rd world country. If you don’t have a job, you are on your own.

After the 2001 crisis, and with unemployment going from 25% to 50% in some areas, the government started issuing help to the unemployed. This so called social plan benefit for the unemployed consists of 150 pesos (almost 50 USD)

This is not enough to feed a family for a week.

Seeing crippled Malvinas war veterans begging on the streets and buses is very common, even before the 2001 crisis.
Also, retired people can barely (and I’m being generous by saying “barely”) survive. They receive about 450 to 600 pesos in most cases (150-200 USD ) Not enough for an old person to survive, certainly not enough for medicines. If there are no relatives to help, they end up on the streets where they die fast.

The sight of old people begging on the streets is heartbreaking.

I once helped an old lady, must have been 80 or 90 years old. She was leaning against a shop window, crying desperately, hugging a small handbag. I asked her what was wrong. She said she had lost her home to the bank (the same SOBs that stole her life savings, excuse my French) and she had just been kicked out of the family motel she was staying in. Man, I forgot about her. I suppose the mind just makes you forget, because if you don’t you end up crazy.

You are right. The racial tension, plus welfare culture is a dangerous combination in USA.

“You make it sound like carrying a pistol on your person is a fairly common occurrence (at least now).”
My mistake, it is not common, at least for decent working people. There are parts where criminals carry their guns openly, sticking out of their jogging pants and no one does anything about it. No one dares mess with them, these are neighborhoods were police don’t dare to enter.

Carrying a handgun, ready for use (loaded and on your person) is illegal, unless you have a permit that is almost impossible to get. You need to own a large company, and justify carrying the gun because you transport large amounts of money (several thousands of USD on daily basis). Carrying a gun for self defense is not a reason for a carry permit, only the protection of money. It’s ridiculous, isn’t it?

Still, owning handguns is not that complicated, once you get a gun user card, but a concealed carry permit card is out of the question.
Some gun users still choose to carry guns, even though they don’t have a carry permit. This is not allowed and you might lose your gun user card for this.

Carrying a gun, bought on the black market, and without even having a gun user card, will take you straight to jail.

On the issue of cops and guns, some may understand that you are carrying for self defense, because you are in a very dangerous area, and if you have your gun user card that shows that you bought that gun legally, he MAY be sensitive and let you go, or not. More than likely, he will ask for a small “tip”, for his troubles. It’s a matter of luck actually. You have to consider all this, and decide if the risk of getting caught is greater than the risk of getting killed for not being able to defend yourself.

I have one question, though. When the economy collapsed and as it seems that the banks always get out on top. What happend to people owing money on their properties ?? Or owing money at all ??

Good point.

Banks and multinational companies always end up on top. They are masters at surviving where others, small or medium size business fail.

A lot of people lost their houses to the bank. Bank Boston, City Bank, HSBC, all the well known names made one big profit out of the misery of others.

The idea of all large corporate monsters dying once the [economy collapses] is only wishful thinking, unfortunately.

The same banks that stole people’s deposits in dollars, returning pesos worth 1/3 of what a dollar is worth, still made you pay your debts to the bank. Many committed suicide or just died of heart attacks, some even died protesting in front of the same bank that stole their money.

The same didn’t apply to personal loans, money pushers only made a marginal profit or lost money all together. The law benefits the banks and corporations, not the small investor.

[For all the rhetoric to the contrary, it will be interesting to see how President Obama's administration stacks up respecting aid to troubled financial institutions vs. aid to troubled borrowers -- Gravelbelly]

I carry a Bersa 9mm pistol with a 19 round capacity magazine or a Glock 31 with a 15 round magazine. I don’t carry spare magazines, but understand that carrying is forbidden over here, so your situation is different.

If clothing allows, I would carry one or two extra magazines.

It’s not a matter of magazine as it is of total amount of ammo. 19+1 rounds is a nice amount of ammo, but if you carry a regular 1911 you are limited to 8+1 rounds of .45, so carrying 1 or 2 extra mags makes a lot of sense.

Bad neighborhoods? I avoid those as much as I can. Again, the legal issue is different. I would carry my pistol and a 12 gauge pump, because auto rifles are not allowed, but if I could I would carry my FAL carbine. And don’t forget your BODY ARMOR!!

Yes, I have two extra mags in the glove compartment. Besides I carry pepper spray and a small iron bat in the car.

On home defense.

I have my Glock close and loaded. My Mossberg with 4 rounds in the tube and a full stock shell holder, and two magazines for the FAL, one with regular FMJ and another with a mixture of AP and incendiary ammo.

Sincerely, I’d replace the shotgun with my SMG if I could, but there is the legal issue to consider. I have the two FAL mags loaded just in case, but it would call for a very particular kind of home invasion for me to use it.
Maybe if a large group of attackers starts to shoot from the street, taking cover behind cars.

Post-Collapse Survival, "7"

2009-02-28T16:14:00.002-05:00

This is installment "7" (6 is missing) of the Post-Collapse series. I have inserted a couple of comments into the text. I am not against going to a foreign safe haven, as long as it really is safer than the situation you're fleeing.

Sorry,

I have yet to find part VI online. I'll keep looking for it.

================================================== =====================

Part 7 (excerpt)

Financial security, and the ability to move: The greatest survival trait

Which brings me to my final consideration on survival, my final conclusion concerning surviving mayor crisis.

Money.

Yes, some paper money, gold, silver, but mostly money in accounts in a couple of “safe” countries and money invested in real estate.

We had people going from middle class to poor over here. We had people going through some terrible situations, and it’s safe to say that those that fared better where those with solid finances.

Our society runs on money, people. Not only paper money, but accounts and virtual money. It would take a world wide collapse, practically the end of humanity for money to be useless as a concept. [A word to the wise: we may be headed there -- gravelbelly]

A country, or several, even a continent can go down into misery, dragging it’s local paper money with it, but the other end will rise proportionally. I truly believe this, and history also shows that there are always losers and winners, conquered and conquerors, the balance, the ying yang always remains.

A giant meteor could destroy earth and little green men could enslave us, yes, but in the infinite spectrum of possibilities, that scenario is the less likely one. I’d rather prepare for those that are more likely. And it’s very likely that though your country can go down with an economical collapse, suffer civil war or natural disasters, you will probably have the possibility to escape to somewhere safe — greener pastures.

H***!, that’s what thousands of Argentines ultimately did, what my family did, and what I intend to do as soon as possible.

Just last week my parents told me that they ran across some old friends that recently moved to Spain. Bad guys broke into their home with them inside, don’t know exactly what happened but it must have been ugly, so they got fed up of the insecurity and moved to Spain with their daughter.

I consider myself a citizen of the world, and have no problem moving if I must. I strongly suggest you think about this, because it may be the ultimate survival solution. While I do believe in the stronghold, retreat concept, I do not believe it is possible to fight off an entire starved, crazed nation.

If we are going to consider long term, permanent TEOTWAWKI, do consider moving to another country, far away, and plan accordingly. This means, having money in accounts, documents and passports ready, maybe even learn a second language.

[If you take this advice, make sure you pick a destination that will be better off than where you are. Tryin to live as a foreigner in a situation of chaotic social unrest may be worse than staying where you are. -- gravelbelly]

Now that I think of it, a solid financial situation and making sure his kids had a worldly, ample mentality, was all my father did, unconsciously or not, to make sure his family survived, and he sure did succeed where millions of others failed. Considering he lived in a shack with earth floor when his parents moved from Spain 50 years ago, he sure did better than the rest.

My father’s “survival arsenal” ? A 22 semi auto, a .22 revolver and a box of ammo, until I convinced him of buying a 1911. Still, we did okay. Savings and investing was the key to our survival.

The survivalist that has 5,000-10,000 bucks worth of weapons, years worth of food and a safe water source but no money invested anywhere is not doing things right. Even if you invest all you have on your retreat, and manage to get of the grid and live in your retreat without the need of anything else, you are pinning yourself down to one single point in the map, from which you can’t move.

Look to what happened to an entire generation of Spanish. They fled Spain escaping civil war. Look at what we are now doing over here. Moving to Spain, escaping from an economical/political [collapse] scenario. See a pattern here?

I know that some refuse to leave their country because of patriotism, but you still CAN be a patriot and still leave if you have to.

Many of the most dedicated fighters had to leave my country during the “Dirty War” (civil war/dictatorship in the 70’s). They were alive to come back and bring those dictators and murderers to justice, while those that stayed and fought simply got executed. Which would you rather be?

Save money, invest, travel, make new friends, visit those long lost parents in the old continent, they will be happy to see you, travel around and learn about different cultures, how to be flexible and adapt to them. This is, by far, the best advice I can give you all when it comes to bad, bad, [crisis situations].

Sometimes, you simply run out of options. Happened here, happened before, and happened in several places. It can happen to you.

A person is not a survivalist simply because he lives in the woods, wears camo all day long, and always has a rifle hanging from his shoulder and looking for trespassers to shoot. That is not what I want in life, and that is not what I consider a flexible, adaptable person. In my humble opinion, the survivalist can feel as comfortable in the woods as in a cocktail party surrounded by sheep. He can play both games, he can adapt. He’s a person that can smile back at those that think differently and keep his convictions to himself if needed. A person that cannot tolerate the presence of others that are not like him has a limited adaptation capability and therefore is limited when it comes to survival. Maybe he’s great at wildlife survival, but not at the real-world, society surviving. He’s good at the kind of survival required to survive a plane cash in the Amazon, which is great, but he can't deal with society and other people.

You have to get over the idea of the retreat being the ultimate, final survival answer to a crisis. That’s incorrect. The final, terminal solution is to leave the country or region. And that requires some social skills and savings. Keep that in mind before you spend every single penny you have on the ultimate retreat. Before anyone beats me in the head with a cinder block, the retreat/bug in house is very important, yes, it’s the semi-last solution, it’s the place that keeps you safe through small and medium crisis (which are more likely than big time [collapse]), and it’s also your home, the place you are more than likely to spend the rest of your life in if nothing goes WAY down the swage. But when [the crisis hits] in a large scale, you have to get out, as many of you advised me to do.

Final Thought: A Message of Hope
Finally, I want to give a message of hope to you all, and remind you and me both that survival is about surviving, but not for the mere fact of living , but to live happy, rich lives.

Prepare because it’s the smart thing to do, and not because you are looking forward to [economic crises] and other disasters.

Do not make the mistake of thinking that [the catastrophe] will be a brand new start for you, and that all your problems will just go away and you’ll have a new start in the brave new world.

It doesn’t work that way. Quite the contrary, everything will get worse, small problems will turn into bigger, more serious problems. If you have drinking problems, you’ll drink more, if you can’t keep a job, you’ll spend years unemployed, if you have a disease, you’ll see that it’s harder to get attention and medications. Again everything gets WORSE.

Someone once asked me, “How is it that you can't shoot a criminal 200 meters away, but police don’t do anything to stop them?”.

[Economic collapse], whatever type of crisis it may be, isn’t fair. It will be absolutely unfair.

You’ll have good, honest people starving, while corrupt ones make profit, you won't have a cop to protect you but they sure will come after you when a criminal presses false charges against you. That’s the way it works.

So, anyone looking forward to TEOTWAWKI for a fresh start, better think again, and get your life straighten out NOW.

Survivalists are often considered as dark fatalists, doomsday worshipers. This is not so, the real survivalist should not be like this.

Negative people will have a hard time dealing with a crisis. It takes a positive, good natured person to make it through.

Know that there are dangers, and situations you can not predict and prepare as best as you can for them. But never forget to live life at it’s fullest.

You and I, we don’t know how long we have on this Earth, so make the best out of it, each passing minute.

A survivalist should not be a pessimist, he should always be positive, happy and enjoying life more than anyone else because he understands that each minute of peace we have is precious and unique, and he never takes it for granted.

The way I see it, the survivalist is a vital, fit, ever curious, good humored person. He’s fit because he takes care of his body, and his body takes care of him, he’s curious, because he thinks that it’s important to learn new things all the time, and he enjoys learning, he has a good humor because he’s sure of himself, and treats others the way he wants to be treated.

That’s how we should behave. Being a survivalist is 90% mental attitude. And even if [catastrophic disruptions] do not occur in our life, that attitude makes our life more rich and fulfilling.

There are things in life we can control and others we can’t, the survivalist way of thinking makes sure we control those we can and accept those we can't.

So, if you have that mentality, either by having a fully independent homestead or simply a few funds, some supplies, a couple of weapons and bug out bags, set that chin a little higher, walk a little bit straighter, no matter if you are a doctor or accountant, trucker or plumber, be proud my friend, because you are a dying breed.

You are, without a doubt, a better person.

Post-Collapse Survival, 5

2009-02-26T08:00:00.003-05:00

One of the things I like about this series is that it's not written by an armchair survivalist. These posts are by a been-there-done-that survivor of the 2001 crash in Argentina. In this installment, he writes as a been-there-wish-I'd-done-that survivor

The series first appeared at frugalsquirrels.com

Urban Survival Part V

A LIST OF THINGS THAT "If you had it to do over again" YOU WOULD GET.

Nomad came up with this one. It’s a good idea because it may help some of you from making the same mistakes I did. There are things you don’t think about until you need them, and then it’s too late.

OK, If I had to do all this from scratch? Say, for example, if I had a 2 year warning, fairy godmother appears one night , all dressed in blue waving a magic wand, saying “ Your country will go down the sewer in 2 years, consider yourself warned, dear”

There are several things I would have done differently, and things I would have bought:

Food: I’ll get to the food issue soon enough, but you can never have too much canned, or other long shelf life food. This was probably one of my greatest mistakes, I overlooked the food problem.

I was talking to my wife today while driving, asked her the same question Nomad asked me “what would you do if you could go back in time, before the 2001 crisis”. My wife, though smart, isn’t much into preparedness, but she answered “I’d buy food” in a heartbeat.

“Don’t you remember that you could only buy one small bottle of oil at a time, same with sugar, flour and milk. Don’t you remember all those empty shelves at the supermarket.?”

Definitely, more food, especially food that lasts for a few years.

CAR: I would have bought a 4x4, even though I live in the city. A 4x4 allows you to drive over the sidewalk or through wasteland, away from roadblocks or riots. I’ve see those that have 4x4s simply go off road, climb over a boulevard and leave while the rest of us poor car owners have to stay.

A 4x4 truck also has more mass and power in case that someone tries to cut you off or rams you with the car. It’s less likely to stop running if you hit someone or several people (in a riot situation) since it’s prepared for cross country use and the engine is much more protected.

Fuel containers: Not only jerry cans, but those big metal containers, that hook up like small “u-hauls”? I’m not sure about their capacity; maybe they can hold one or two barrels of gas. I saw them at construction sites, and they were not that expensive if bought used, before the 2001 crisis. Now, I don’t know. Haven’t seen them for a while.

A generator: These are imported and very expensive for us. I think that they are now making them here, but I’m not sure about the quality.

A nice TV and DVD player: I know what you are thinking “this guy has gone … “nuts.”Please, let me explain.
Going out for dinner or to the movies is not only dangerous but also expensive. You WILL find much better use for that money if [the economy crashes].

There are places in Buenos Aires where you can go out for dinner, movies, or theater shows and have a good time, safely. They either have their own security or arrange with the police for added security. These are the kinds of places you are likely to visit if you ever come to Argentina, places where tourists can move around, relatively safe (there are always exceptions, of course). But these places are either for tourists or for the extremely wealthy. I have a good socio-economical level, better than 96% of the population at least, yet I can’t afford to spend that amount of money every weekend or even two weekends a month. Going out for a walk is a possibility, and we do go out for a walk every now and then, but lets just say that the view isn’t that good, and you can only walk about 6 blocks in the same direction before you get out of the area which is guarded by private security, after that you are in “you are on-your-own” land. You CAN go for a walk (just like millions that live in Somalia or Afghanistan go for a walk as well) millions of citizens do, but I’d rather not risk it.

Just the day before yesterday, a young woman was waiting at the bus stop in my neighborhood, holding her 6 month old daughter. A cop that was chasing a bad guy opened fire with his High Power, with no regard to bystanders as they always do. The 9mm FMJ (JHP are not allowed for the average police) went right through the baby’s buttocks and through the mother. Miraculously, the bullet didn’t hit any of the baby’s internal organs and the mother also survived after a few days at the hospital. Was that just luck? Maybe, I prefer to think that God does work in mysterious ways.

We have a lot of cases like this, where innocent people get shot by the police, and the stupid “no JHP” rule makes it worse, since 124 gr. FMJ 9mm will penetrate walls, windows, even bad guys and end up injuring or killing innocent people.
So, back to the TV. Good places are too expensive, and just going out for a walk at night with your wife/girlfriend is out of the question. All of a sudden popcorn, pizza and a movie sounds like a good plan.

I’m not saying that you should spend all day in front of the screen like a zombie. Reading is nice, I love reading myself, but once the [catastrophe hits], going out with a date at night won’t be that easy, nor will it be that cheap. You will end up paying for that added security the shop/bar/theater owner hired, the higher price of gas and food, while a DVD copy can be found everywhere, and costs only a couple of bucks. After the [crisis] there will be a lot of “why don’t we watch a movie” nights. Like it or not TV is cheap, safe entertainment. A play station or Xbox is also nice to have.

Even if the country collapses, there will always be a guy with a DVD writer making copies. Just something to think about if you like movies.

BOOKS: Oh, almost forgot. If you like reading a lot, buy books now, even if you won’t read them for some time. If your economy crashes, paper will become a source of income for many. We have thousands of scavengers collecting cardboard and paper all day long, specially at night when people take out the trash. As a result, books are not cheap, because they have a value of its own in the form of paper.

Also, consider that books are heavy, making transportation expensive and many are printed abroad. Just as an example: I returned from visiting my parents in Spain with three suitcases. ONE suit case was entirely full of books. Books cost about 80%-200% more than what they cost in USA or Spain.

Guns & ammo: I always liked guns, so I always had weapons. But I didn’t have an adequate survival battery. If you don’t have a good survival selection of weapons, buy them now, or as soon as your budget allows. Make it one of your priorities, just after food, water and shelter.

There are several posts on the ideal choice of weapons. Get at least a service size pistol and a military semi auto rifle and a 22 handgun/rifle. (try to get both if you can, they are not that expensive). A bolt rifle (preferably in the same caliber as the semi) a pump 12 gauge shotgun and a sub rifle, like a SMG or pistol caliber semi auto carbine (same caliber as pistol) would complete the package.

I forgot to buy a 22 pistol until after 2001, and ended up paying for a Norinco 22 pistol the same price I would have paid for a Ruger pistol before the crisis.

My advice is: See what you use regularly and what you expect to need after [the crash]. Of those goods, see where they are made. If they are made outside your country, they will either increase in price of stop importation entirely after [the crash].

In my case, one good example (of many, many others) is Gillette disposable blades. They are made in USA, and right now they cost a fortune. But as I said before, check what is being imported.

I wouldn’t think of these items as trade goods, but as “gifts” to buy favors, build up relationships with police, government officials, doctors, people you might need favors from.

Stuff, like liquor/wine, a nice pen, perfume, makeup and other “free shop” kind of items can go a long way when you need some strings pulled, or a “friend” within certain circles. And it’s not only the item, sweet talking also must be applied.

For example, you need renew your driver’s license after the XXXX crisis. The problem is that the office is low on personnel (they had to let go 25% and 50% are on strike) so you’ll have to wait 4 months until you get an appointment.

You approach the information desk were you find Betty. Now, Betty hasn’t had a date since the age of 10, and she weighs as much a healthy manatee (though she’s not THAT pretty) you kindly ask her to please help you fill the paperwork, and though she’s as cold as a Popsicle, you keep calling her by her first name and when you leave she smiles and says good bye.

The next day you drop by and give Betty a Revlon lipstick for “helping” you fill the form, which had difficult questions like “name?” ”Age?”. It cost you about 4 bucks before the crisis but, since it’s made in France, it went up to 20 dollars and then, 2 months ago, they no longer imported it. Revlon saw that they no longer had a market for their 4 Euro lipstick, which now costs Americans 20 dollars and the segment that used to buy it is spending that money in other items like food, so their marketing experts told them that the 4 Euro lipstick is no longer profitable in USA.

Betty used to love that particular lipstick, she thought it made her look like Cindy Crawford (poor Betty) but 20 dollars was more than she could spare on her good looks, and when she finally decided to drop the 40 pounds of M&M’s she ate a month in favor for the lipstick, the girl at the drugstore told her that the item is no longer imported into the USA.

Her face lights up when she sees your present, and tells you that you shouldn’t have bothered, and she asks how did it go with your license. You tell here that you actually have a problem, it seems that it takes 4 months to renew, and you ask her if, well, maybe she can do something about it… you get the picture.

In other occasions people will let you know that they want a plain and simple “bribe”, and there 50 bucks or 100 bucks according to the situation will get the job done. I’ve used “gifts” (a perfume) to get my passport faster, saved a few months, and I’ve used bribes every single time the police stopped me for “inspection”. I know this does not apply to 1st world countries where most officers are honest self sacrificed people, I mean no insult to the law enforcement community on this forum, but please understand that it does apply to 3rd world countries, and I’m not getting shot by an angry cop over 10 or 20 pesos, let them have their bribe. I tried it once and I will never try it again. A cop stopped me and started [to harass] me. I told him “ok officer, guess you’ll have to write me a ticket, I understand”. He didn’t want to write a ticket, he wanted money and things got ugly. I’m never doing anything that stupid again.

FOOD

A delicate issue. Even though not in the same way, it does affect us all. Keep in mind that if [the economy crashes], prepared or not, food will always be in your thoughts. If you don’t have it you’ll do ANYTHING to get it, and if you are prepared you’ll worry about being able to get more for the future. Once you see food prices go up between 200% and 300%, or simply see it missing, you’ll realize what a valuable commodity food really is.

To those that think that food will never be a problem in USA:

Come visit my country, even though there are desert areas up north, most of the country is fertile “Pampa”. Just after WWII Argentina practically fed Europe. Argentina was known in Europe as “the world’s granary”. Cattle and wheat was enough to feed our own country and another continent.

So, what happened? Why are there so many that have little or no food and end up eating out of dumpsters? I mean, the land is still there, isn’t it?

Well, the country is the same country that used to be called the “world’s granary” but some things changed. Several big, multinational corporations, such as Benetton, bought hundreds of thousands of acres of natural resources. I don’t know the exact number, but I do remember that the media started talking about the integrity of the sovereignty of the country being at risk because of these massive purchases of land, so you can imagine how many acres were bought. Mysteriously, the media suddenly dropped the subject.

Another important factor is that now, with our new economy, it’s not good business to sell Argentine food to Argentina. Why sell a kg of meat to the local market for 17 pesos when they can now sell it to Spain for 17 Euros when 1 Euro = 3,5 pesos?
All this combined with high unemployment, salaries that are not enough to buy the minimal amount of calories for a typical family, and the high prices resulted in a country that slowly started to suffer hunger.

Again, I can pin point the exact moment when the entire country realized what was happening. After the 2001 crisis things had been bad, but people in Buenos Aires, the capital city and the richest province, didn’t realize how bad things actually were in the other provinces.

This was until teachers noted that kids had problems with education. You see, they noticed that they had problems to concentrate, that they fell asleep, and that they found it difficult to resolve mathematical equations. They later found out that this was due to malnutrition, kids where not receiving the minimum amount of nutrients for a healthy working body.

The breaking point was when a reporter interviewed a little girl about 8 or 9 years old. The reporter lady asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up, the usual kiddy questions.

The girl, crying, said that she didn’t want to be anything, that she didn’t care.

The lady asked her why was she crying.
She said that she cried because she was hungry, that she had nothing to eat for days, and it was then that I noticed how skinny the little girl actually was.

Seeing children starve is terrible, I guess we all saw those images f the starving kids in Africa. But when you see them speak your same language, with your same accent, in your own country, it hits a nerve.

People talked about it for weeks, and they interviewed pediatricians that confirmed that the number of children dying because of hunger had increased drastically in the last few months.

So whatever happens, let it be a hurricane, economical collapse, earthquake or meteor hitting earth, food and water always come first.
Ideally you already have a food plan and have a year worth of food in your basement… You don’t? hmm… neither did I when the [crisis hit] and lets just say that I had my manhood up my throat all the time, fearing that supermarkets would definitely close and me and my family would be left without food.

If you don’t have your food needs sorted out already, just do what I did; start buying a little extra every time you go to the supermarket. The point is you want to look for your storage food are, in order of importance:

1) No need of fridge.
2) High nutritious value/volume
3) Long shelf life, between 1-5 years.
4) That they don’t need water
5) That they don’t need cooking

This will usually take you to canned meats, canned tuna, canned vegetables, dried pasta, dehydrated soups, chocolate, milk powder, marmalades, soups, rice and dried beans.

Canned food is excellent when it comes to long shelf life. Most of the time they are already hydrated, so they don’t need water, and you can eat them out of the can. Just watch out not to dent the can, if this happens air may get inside and ruin it. If you have a dent or bump in a can, consume it fast. Also remember that once the can is opened, you have to remove the food from the can.

My favorite canned food is tuna. It lasts forever, it’s full of protein, and no matter how often I eat it, it always tastes good. Besides you can combine it with frizzed vegetables or rice. Canned fruits and vegetables are also good, but they have much less vitamins than the fresh ones, and you lose most of it unless you drink the liquid they come in.

Dried pasta may need a lot of water to cook, but its one of the best ways to store carbs in convenient to use form. Flour or wheat can also be stored in large quantities and are nutritious, but they require more preparation to consume.

We’ve become quite independent form the fridge, and only use it to keep frozen our fresh pasta pizza and frozen vegetables.
We practically freeze everything, because it lasts longer, practically indefinitely, and because if the lights go out a large mass of frozen food will last for hours, even a day or two. The more mass of food you have frozen the longer it will hold.

The survivalist, especially the urban one, should try to rely as little as possible on the fridge. That’s why canned food and freeze dried food is your best friend.

Yet, anyone who has been for a while with no fresh fruit knows that after some time the skin starts to suffer. Sores will appear after a while, especially on delicate skin like the lips and mouth. Once you start eating fresh fruits and vegetables again they go away.

This happened to me once, spent to much time without fresh vegetables and my mouth was a mess, full of sores. After a week of eating fresh vegetables regularly the symptoms disappeared. That’s why you should try to have some fresh food to supplement you storage food.

Not much, just 2 or 3 fruit trees on your garden and a small orchard would be fine. You don’t have to feed out of this, you just need a little fresh veggies or fruit every once in a while.

On the news right now while I write this: We had elections last Sunday, we voted for senators. It seems that in one of the north provinces people were surrendering their ID documents for bags of groceries, some for water, or for 10 pesos ( 3 USD) they were later taken to warehouses were they spent the night to ensure that they voted. The next day the candidate’s men took them to vote, hauled inside cattle trucks, like animals. When they arrived they were given their ID documents back with the number of list they had to vote. Thugs guide them and ensure they vote how they want.

HEALTH & FITNESS

Visit your doctor NOW. Get yourself fixed. Visit the dentist and make sure your mouth is in perfect conditions. Nothing is worse than having toothache and no one available to take care of it. Remember that doctors may not be as available as they are now, in the future.
For example I got eye surgery to take care of my sight problem. Now I see perfectly without glasses.

The advantage of laser eye surgery isn’t limited to not needing glasses. (which can break and would be nearly impossible to replace after [the crash])

Even people react to you in a different way. Humans are after all instinctive animals. Bad guys will look at you as a weaker person if you wear glasses. Maybe they don’t know that at a conscious level, maybe they do, but they do react differently. This is not me imagining stuff, it’s the way things are. Old people and women are especially vulnerable. After old people and women and children, come small framed people, the smaller you are, the weaker you look, the more likely you are to be chosen as a victim by a bad guy. It sounds, cruel, and it sure is, but that’s the way it works.

A young man with a well formed body, broad shoulders, muscled arms and a “don’t f*** with me” face, is less likely to be a victims of small time thieves. If a professional group chooses you as a target that’s a completely different story, of course.

Talk to your doctor a lot. Just like “The little Prince”, never stop yourself from asking a question. Adopt that as a general philosophy and you’ll end up learning a little about everything. Mechanics, doctors, policemen, you can always learn something new from people with skills.

As a survivalist, and as a smart person, you should try to know a little about everything, Always be curious.
That’s how I learned that I had to diversify my stock of antibiotics. A doctor told me, that the body will adapt if you always use the same, making that particular antibiotic not that effective, specially in small children, so now I keep two different kinds of antibiotics.

Working out 3 times a week, for a couple of hours will keep you in shape. I work out at home, I have a bench and some weights. Try to complement some aerobics and weight lifting. Working the boxing bag is good exercise, works most muscles if done right, and you’ll have a much more powerful punch. Keep in mind that a bag is no replacement for a sparring partner and that the bag does not feint nor does it punch back. Still, it good exercise and your punch will be more powerful if you connect.
Running belts and bicycles are also good.

Whatever you do, the idea is to have a fit, healthy body. No use in shooting ½ MOA at 100 yards if you have a gut that hangs half way to the floor and you can’t run that same distance without needing an oxygen mask.

I know, shooting is fun, and working out isn’t. At least for most, but after some time you’ll start to enjoy it, your stamina and morale will definitely increase, and you’ll start looking forward to working out. The survivalist that spends 3 hours a week on his gun skills and no time at all on his own body is not doing things right.

Imagine if you have to run away from a riot/gunfight/attack while carrying your BOB [bail-out bag], or fighting bare-handed against someone that got you by surprise. This applies for life in general, before or after [the crash] a man has to now how to fight bare-handed. You don’t have to be Bruce Lee or Mike Tyson, just know how to through a decent punch, cover your face, or some kind or martial art classes.

Knowing first aid procedures is always helpful. I’ll take the Red Cross course this summer. Keep a first aid kit and any other special medicine you may need. If you take drugs regularly try to have at least a year’s worth.

Medicines are hard to get and expensive, many are made in other countries and if [there is a social catastrophe] they might not be available. My father in law has Parkinson and needs a special medicine that is no longer imported. He asks friends that travel to get it for him. I stock pile as much medicines as I can. Apart from the regular 1st aid kit stuff you usually have at home, I concentrate on Ibuprofen and antibiotics, both for children and adults.

Antibiotics are precious here, with all the viruses that are floating around. Lung infections are particularly dangerous. Also remember that keeping a clean, ventilated house goes a long way when it comes to preventing diseases. This is hard when the city is full of filth and there are cockroaches and rats everywhere but it can be done.

My neighborhood isn’t that bad, there are places that are much, much worse, where people literally sleep and eat with rats. Cockroaches are a problem, but I keep them somewhat controlled with that poison that comes in syringes and you place around the house.
That reminds me, stock up on rat and cockroach poison. Services are bad in general, and the garbage collectors are no exception.

Once, they went on strike for about a week (though there are worst places where they go months without collecting) and you could see rats running around the piles of garbage that people threw on the street’s boulevard.
This is not healthy, of course. And helps spread diseases all over the city, so keep that in mind as well.

FerFAL, B. A. Argentina

Post-Collapse Survival, 4

2009-02-24T08:00:00.003-05:00

Continued from "Post-Collapse Survival, 3"

In America, the civil government operates primarily at the pleasure and for the benefit of about 1/2 of 1% of the population. They not only control the vast majority of the wealth, but they also live by networking with others who wield influence and power.

Some of them may suffer paper losses in an economic collapse, but few (very VERY few) will lose their privileged status.

In the same kind of crisis, the middle class will totter on the brink of extinction. The author of this report covers that sobering truth in this, the fourth installment.

-Interlude- Studying the [crisis fallout} at the University: Dark omens.

I forgot it! D***, same as the gold stuff but worse, much worse. I’ve never been good at remembering some things, like numbers and names of people I meet, I forget those (instantly), they just flee my mind, uneventfully, but I do remember some other things that don’t seem to be as important. I do remember living in USA as a kid. I remember my school, Pierce School, Don’t remember exactly were it was, because we lived some in Boston, Massachusetts and some in New Hampshire. I remember my best friend, Freddy, and a girl (why is there always a girl? Samantha, Sam. She was red haired and tall, I had a picture of her playing together but I lost it. Some time between the age of 3 and 26 I lost that picture that was so dear to me. I remember the smell of an orange shaped “scratch and smell” sticker my kindergarten teacher stuck in a small book we made once. But I almost forgot this forever. This, this was important, a moment where the life we once knew stopped existing, and a group of students, in a class room that looked like and abandoned building, realized it, all 60 of us at the same time.

It’s 1:06 AM over here. I just finished showering and my wife and son are asleep. I was putting shampoo on my hair, thinking about what I wrote today on this post, and remembered the exact moment when I realized along with several other people, not only that [the economy crashed] (that we all knew) but that the world we once new no longer existed, and that this was not a hurricane, this was an ice age period, it wouldn’t just go away.

We understood it the same way a kid understands photosynthesis: Because a teacher coldly explained it to us, even used graphics. I slept 5 hours yesterday, 2 hours the day before yesterday. Saturday night I didn’t sleep at all. I’m already used to it. Deadlines at the University, staying late at night, drawing in CAD 3D, waiting until Renders are ready. It’s a competitive world out there, and no one sympathizes with what you are going through, they just want you to perform as expected, and the standard is always high.

It happened 4 years ago, almost a year after the December 2001 crisis. It was a social studies class and this teacher, don’t remember if it was a he or a she, was explaining the different kinds of social pyramids. G**! Now I remember more! We even had a text book with those d***, cruel pyramids! The first pyramid explained the basic society. A pyramid with two horizontal lines, dividing those on top (high social class) those in the middle (middle class) and the bottom of the pyramid (the poor, proletarian). The teacher explained that the middle of the pyramid, the middle class, acted as a cushion between the rich and the poor, taking care of the social stress.

The second pyramid had a big middle section, this was the pyramid that represents 1st world countries. One where the bottom is very thin and arrows show that there is a possibility to go from low to middle class, and from middle to the top of the social pyramid. Our teacher explained that this was the classic, democratic capitalist society, and that on countries such as Europeans one, socialists, the pyramid was very similar but a little more flat, meaning that here is a big middle section, middle class, and small high and low class. There is little difference between the three of them.

The third pyramid showed the communist society. Where arrows from the low and middle class tried to reach the top but they bounced off the line. A small high society and one big low society, cushioned by a minimal middle class section of pyramid. Then we turned the page and saw the d***ed fourth pyramid. This one had arrows from the middle class dropping to the low, poor class.

“What is this?” Some of us asked.

The teacher looked at us. “This is us”

“It’s the collapsed country, a country that turns into 3rd world country like in pyramid five where there is almost no middle class to speak, one huge low, poor class , and a very small, very rich, top class.”

“What are those arrows that go from the middle to the bottom of the pyramid?” Someone asked.

You could hear a pin drop. “That is middle class turning into poor”.

I won’t lie, no one cried, though people rubbed their faces, held their heads and their breath.

No one cried, but we all knew at that very moment that all we thought, all we took for granted, simply was not going to happen.

“You see, the income from the middle class is not enough to function as middle class any more. Some from the top class fall to middle class, but the vast majority of the middle class turns into poor” Said the teacher.

I don’t know how many people in that room suddenly understood that he/she was poor.

The teacher continued “You see, we have a middle class that suddenly turns to poor, creating a society of basically poor people, there is no more middle class to cushion tensions any more. Middle class suddenly discovers that they are overqualified for the jobs they can find and have to settle for anything they can obtain, therefore unemployment sky rockets: too much to offer, too little demand. You see they prepare, study for a job they are not going to get. You kids, you are studying Architecture because you simply wish to do so. Only 3 or 4 percent of you will actually find a job related to architecture.”

We all sat there, letting it all sink in. After a few months, it all proved to be true. Even the amount of students that dropped out of college increased to at least 50%. They either so no point in studying something that would not make much of a difference in their future salaries, had no money to keep themselves in college, or simply had to drop college to work and support their families.

Someone once said, in this forum, that if this had happened in USA, the social unrest would have been much worse, because people from S. America are stronger. At first, I told him that I didn’t think so, I said that all humans adapt when they have no other choice. But now that I consider it more, maybe he was right. Not that S. Americans are stronger, but they are more used to adversities. Most of us are children from grandparents that escaped civil war, either in Spain or dictators in Italy, our parents survived the dirty war, even more dictators, and therefore their children are of strong character too.

Can USA citizens survive what we survived? Of course they can, though I think that there are too many that are not like you, many that don’t prepare, and take everything for granted. Those are the ones that will be responsible for the increase in the social unrest once the [catastrophe strikes]; those that were too lazy to take care of themselves before the [crisis], or that had gone soft through out the years, believing that the government will “take care of them because they pay their taxes”. But in the end, they will pull through. People will adapt, they always do. You’d be surprised. And those that don’t want to adapt to the new reality they live in, will die young, thus cleaning the gene pool and ensuring the continuity of the species. It’s been this way for thousands of years.

CRIME AND INSECURITY

Even though crime has always been an issue in South America, my country was quite the exception. It was dangerous, yes but nothing like after the 2001 economical crisis. One used to be able to let kids play on the sidewalk, or walk back home from a party, a few blocks, and be somewhat safe. This all changed now. There are no kids playing on the sidewalks anymore. I should emphasize this a little more. There are absolutely NO kids playing on the sidewalks at all, at any time of the day. Maybe a kid rides his bike a few meters on the sidewalk, but always under the supervision of an adult. A kid riding a bike on his own will get that bike stolen in no time, probably get hurt in the process, therefore no responsible parent leaves a kid alone on the street. Teenagers present a greater problem. You can’t keep a 15 or 16 year old inside a house all day long, and even though they are big enough to go out on their own, when the sun goes down things get much worse.

This is when parents organize themselves; either taking them to someone’s house or to a club and picking them up at a certain time. Taxis and remises are used sometimes, but there have been lots of cases of girls getting raped, so no parent worth a buck leaves his son or daughter in hands of a stranger. After years of living like this, almost everyone learned to be careful; sometimes they had to learn the hard way. Practically no one leaves a door or window opened or unlocked. Nor do they hang out in front of the house talking to friends. A bad guy might just see you there, like a sitting duck, pull a gun on you and take you inside your house.

There are no “bandit’s law” anymore. One used to hear people talk about “You shouldn’t resist a robbery, give them what they want and they’ll go away”. That holds true no more. These guys are under the influence of drugs, epoxy glue, or just hate your guts so much, because you have a better life than they ever dreamed of, because they were abused since the day they were born, that they will hurt and humiliate you as much as they can. Letting a criminal inside you house almost guaranties you that he will rape/beat/ torture and abuse whoever they find inside.

I personally drew a line a few years ago and decided, after one long, serious conversation with my wife; that no one would be allowed inside the house, no matter what. We figured that there are worse things than death. Having decided that, I make sure I always have a weapon on me. They’ll have to pay dearly for my life, plus interests.

By far, the most dangerous moment of the day, is when I (or my wife) leave/enter my house. A solid, secure house cannot be broken in easily, so criminals wait until you are standing in front of the door with the keys on your hand to jump you. This is why we are extra alert when approaching our house, looking all around us and if we see anything strange, we keep walking around the block or keep on driving. No door is ever opened when there is a strange person around. Whenever someone knocks on our door (and we don’t know him/her), they are answered from a second story window. Criminals sometimes disguise as electric company guys or something like that, saying that they have to fix something. NO! If there is something to be fixed they can fix it on the sidewalk. Anything inside your house is your responsibility and the company is not going to fix it for you. Either way, it’s always better to play it safe, Better to be rude than dead.

On the car/driving issue, that calls for an entire post dedicated to [crisis] driving. For now I’ll just say that windows and doors have to be closed at all times, a weapon must be within arms reach, and that stop signs and traffic lights have a whole new meaning once [society begins to disintegrate]. If your country ever falls as mine did, you’ll remember me whenever you see a traffic light. You never stop at a red lights or stop sign unless there is traffic, especially at night.

At first, police would write you a ticket for not stopping at a red light if they saw you (another way of saying that they will ask for a bribe if they see you pass a red light), but after a few months they realized that nothing could be done, people would rather risk a ticket than risking their lives, so they decided to turn traffic lights to permanent yellow at night, after 8 or 9 PM. This is, of course, very dangerous. Night car accidents are both frequent and brutal since sometimes both cars hit each other at full speed.

MissingLink asked some good questions that might interest others as well, and since we are on the security issue, here they are:

“Do the invaders of homes in the country just drive up in cars or trucks? Do they hide and sneak up? How do these home invaders attack a home in the country? A similar question could be asked for homes in the city.”

Sometimes they just drive up to where you are working, if you are far away from the home, but most of the time they sneak up on you. Criminals are not stupid, and they will spend days checking the place and specially YOUR ROUTINE. For example, if they see that you lock the gate at night, as most do, they will wait for you behind a tree until you are close. This is done a lot. Dogs are the best alarm you can find, and criminals know that. They will poison them with pills when you go to sleep and attack the place in the middle of the night. I know of many that had their dogs killed. If they think that security is tight, they will just hide near the main gate, and wait for you to leave or return. When you stop at the gate and must get out of the truck to open/close the main gate, they attack. I’d say that the most frequent kind of attack is by surprise when you enter/leave your home.

“Most common times of attack? Day night evening morning? I understand occur when coming or going from ones home, etc.”

7 am, 9 am, 1pm 7pm, all are common times for attacks. There is no “safe” hour of the day. Night is particularly dangerous. Maybe attacks during the day are faster, they want to get some money or jewelry and leave fast, while at night they might stay inside more time, maybe till the next day. But there are no fixed patterns. If I could give one advice concerning [post-collapse] security, it would be: Eyes and ears wide open when you enter/leave your home. If possible, keep a gun on your hand when doing either one. If something looks, even “feels strange, then go around the block and check again, carefully. If you see them still there, either call the police (if still available) or get help. If you approach the house with a large number of people they will leave. One time, I saw a couple of strange looking guys at my door. I went round the block and saw them still there. I started flashing the car lights and the horn and they left. I had a gun with me, though, so be careful when trying this. Also, remember that a car is one heavy, powerful piece of machinery. I know a guy that had one of those big chrome–tube bumpers installed on his truck, especially for hitting those that were stupid enough o try to make him stop by standing in front of the car.

If I had a truck, I would do so myself. Though I would keep my mouth shut about it, as always. Just say that you think it looks cool or something. Every now and then someone tries to force me to stop my car by standing in front of it (I suppose there are still fools out there that get robbed this way), in the middle of the street. I just aim at them and accelerate at full speed. They always jump out of the way before I hit them. By the way, at first, doing this made me feel nervous, but can you believe that now it’s just common driving, as normal as changing gears? I guess it’s a little sad.

Post-Collapse Survival, 3

2009-02-21T08:00:00.007-05:00

This is part 3 of a treatise on surviving a total economic collapse. The difference about this particular author is that he writes from firsthand experience. He wrote this in 2005 to chronicle his observations following Argentina's 2001 economic disaster. It originally appeared over at frugalsquirrels.com.

Urban Survival, Part III

After [the crisis] in 2001, only the most narrow minded, brain washed, butterfly IQ level idiots believed that the police would protect them from the crime wave that followed the collapse of our economy. A lot of people that could have been considered antigun before, ran to the gun shops, seeking advice on how to defend themselves and their families. They would buy a 38 revolver, a box of ammo, and leave it in the closet, probably believing that it would magically protect them from intruders.

Oh, maybe you don’t think that firearms are really necessary or your beliefs do not allow you to buy a tool designed to kill people. So you probably ask yourself, is a gun really necessary when [things get really bad]? Will it truly make a difference? Having gone through a [crisis] scenario myself, total economical collapse in the year 2001, and still dealing with the consequences, 5 years later, I feel I can answer that question. YES, you need a gun, pepper spray, a machete, a battle axe, club with a rusty nail sticking out of it, or whatever weapon you can get hold of.

A LOT has been written on survival weapons. Everyone that is into armed survival has his or her own idea of the ideal gun battery. Some more oriented to a hunting point of view, others only as self defense means and others consider a little of both, and look for general purpose weapons. Talking about guns, there is one special subject I want to rectify, and it’s the point on what’s the primary weapon for the survivalist, specially a urban survivalist that has to function in a society, yes, even after the [collapse].
The primary defensive weapon for the survivalist is his HANDGUN. It’s the weapon that stays with him when he is doing his business around town of working on the field. The survivalist IS NOT a soldier, even though you are a soldier or you once were the meanest mother on the battlefield, your home town is not a battlefield and it won’t be, even if the [total collapse happens]. A LOT of water has to go under the bridge until the situation gets to a point where you can calmly walk down the street with a rifle on your shoulder. People, if you are interested in real world [crisis] situation and you want to prepare for the real deal, then understand that this isn’t black or white. You wake up one day and listen on the radio that the economy collapsed and that the stock market closed indefinitely. What do you do? You still have to go to the office/work/whatever. Kiss the wife good bye and walk to the office with your AR across your back, or across your chest, Israeli style, ready to shoot? You won’t get far. Someone will shoot you or throw you in jail, or in a mental institution.

What I’m trying to explain, is that it’s ok to prepare for China invading your country, Germans and UN or Martians. That is the extreme, least likely worst case scenario.

There is an infinity spectrum of gray between the black and white. White being your average normal day and black being total TEOTWAWKI, lizard men invading the planet.

Rifles do have a place in the survivalist’s arsenal, and a very important one. But you have to understand that 90% of the time, the handgun will be the weapon you have available when you need one. You can’t compare to a trooper in Iraq that has his weapon with him at all times. I ask you how many soldiers do you know that keep wearing camouflage and toting their M4s around town when they return home?

What works for war does not work for the survivalist, especially the urban survivalist.

Even if you live in a retreat far from town, you have to work, don’t you? Or do you have employees that take care of all your mundane tasks, leaving you all day to keep watch with your rifle ready? A soldier is part of a huge machine; HIS job is to carry that rifle, while others take care of other needs. A survivalist, one that is not part of a large survivalist group, has no one to cover for him.

When a new guy looks for advice on what to get for defense, some will recommend a rifle or shotgun as a first defensive weapon.
Let’s say race riots start in this guy’s city. He still has to go to work every day. What is he supposed to do? Shove his pump shotgun in his pocket? A handgun, even though less powerful, can be used for home defense AND go with you wherever you need to go. If the place floods, he can still hop into an evacuation boat without leaving his weapon behind. I’m sure no rescue team will pick you if you are carrying a long arm. They’ll ask you to leave it behind for sure. What if your government, realizing that [the situation is critical] and that they lost control of the events, bans all firearms indefinitely? Don’t know about you, but if things are that bad, I’d like to be armed. You can hide a handgun under a jacket. You can’t hide a long arm under your clothes.

I think it was Clint Smith who said that the handgun is only to be used to fight his way to his rifle. Man! That sounds “macho”. I’d love to see him walking into Walmart with his tactical M4, taking the subway, visiting the doctor or going to the bank. “Over here Mr. Smith, you can hang you M4 right next to my coat” I don’t think so. Guys, unless you have your own shooting school, you do not get to carry your rifle to work.

OK, now that I got that out of my chest lets look at some options.

Handguns: Revolver or Pistol? Pistol ALL THE WAY! Yes, I saw the video of the guy that accurately emptied his S&W in ½ a second. I also saw the shooting range and the crowd behind him, watching the event. Can he shoot and reload that way if he is in his car, driving with one hand and shooting with the other, while a bunch of scum bags in another car are shooting at him? Hey, maybe he can. I know I can’t. Can you?

Generally speaking, the revolver is more difficult to master than the pistol. The double action is hard and it affects speed and accuracy. It can be done, but I found that pistols are easier, as did many shooters. Also, even though they seem to be more simple, revolvers are not as rugged as service pistols, the mechanism that cycles the cylinder and cocks the hammer is both complicated and fragile compared to auto pistols.

Before anyone starts casting evil voodoo spells at me for insulting their prized S&W or Ruger: I own revolvers and like shooting them, I just don’t think they are the best option for self defense, and I see that everyone I talk to in my country who is worried about security as I am also chooses pistols. Quality pistols resist sand, mud and dirt in general better than revolvers, where a small pebble locked in the mechanism may render the revolver inoperable.

I personally had a problem with a new stainless steel Taurus Tracker .357 magnum. After shooting it a couple of times I reloaded it and shot all 7 rounds as fast as I could and when I tried to empty it, I found that the empties were stuck because they expanded because of the heat. I had to wait until the gun cooled a little so I could empty the gun. Stuff like this can get you killed, even more in a 7 round handgun.

I once saw a man walk into a gun store wanting to trade his 357 magnum revolver for a 9mm high capacity pistol. He said he was driving when thugs from another car started shooting at him. He was chased for a few blocks. He said that he pulled his revolver and started shooting at them, and ran out of ammo real fast. He wanted more capacity and fast reloading. I could not agree with him more. Some will consider this “Spray and pray”, thinking that all rounds should hit the target and if some don’t then it means that you need more time at the range. Those same people will tell you that they intend to use bolt action rifles as defensive rifles, making each shot count, without ever missing their target, one shot one kill. I don’t agree with this. One shot one kill is ok for snipers, but the survivalist should have other alternatives.

I don’t see anything wrong with shooting four or five rounds at a chasing car. If those rounds make them think twice about their intentions, they are rounds well spent in my book, even if they don’t kill the attacker. Suppressive fire is possible if you have a high capacity pistol. I wouldn’t doubt on using such a tactic if it serves my purposes, or if it buys me time to get out of there. Also keep in mind that criminals are cowards and therefore attack in groups. The survivalist should be able to face more than just one attacker. Getting into a gunfight with two or three armed men while packing a 6 round revolver is rather hard to deal with. A high capacity pistol can load about 15 or 19 rounds, and that can certainly make a difference in a gunfight where you are outnumbered.

A forensic doctor that used to live in my neighborhood got killed last year. He was ambushed when he exited a restaurant by 5 or 6 men. Even though they did kill him he managed to kill 4 of them and severely injure another. He shot regularly and carried a Glock .40. I’m sure he was lucky but I also think that his choice of weapon was also important in the outcome. If anyone is wondering, people in my country that are serious about self defense carry Glocks. Those that don’t have the money for a Glock carry Bersas, FN 9mm High Powers or 1911 surplus .45s. At first I wasn’t sure about the Bersa, but once I tried them I saw that they are very decent guns.

The caliber choice calls for endless debate and it is not my intention here. Lets just say that 9mm , 40S&W and 45ACP are the obvious choices. 40S&W seem to be the most adequate, both in FMJ and HP, while 9mm lacks some stopping power and hollow points should be used if possible. Though the 9mm lacks power compared to the 40S&W, it is more popular world wide, a factor to consider seriously when choosing a handgun for [post-collapse survival]. Besides, 9mm can also be used in a number of carbines and SMG, another important fact to be considered.

SMGs and carbines chambered for 40S&W and .45 ACP are also available, but they at not nearly as popular as those chambered for 9mm. Whatever you choose keep 500 or better yet 1000 rounds of quality ammo for your handgun at all times. 100 rounds won’t last much if the crisis lasts long. Also consider that once the balloon goes up, governments tend to restrict guns and ammo.

Rifles

I previously stated that the urban survivalist will be using his handgun 90% of the time he needs to defend himself and family from attackers. I didn’t pull this figure out of thin air; it is quite accurate based on what happens here on daily basis, even a little optimistic. Cold harsh reality has shown us that most attacks occur when entering or exiting your home, when you are more vulnerable.

Almost no one is stupid enough to try to enter a barred house with armed occupants. Believe me people; the gene pool will clean itself rather fast once the [fabric of society unravels]. So, is a rifle necessary? Of course it is! There is still that 10%, and that 10% can still ruin your day. And this percentage sky rockets if you intend to use that same rifle for putting meat on the table. If you have to settle with just one rifle, go for a semi auto. Ideally you should have a bolt action one and a semi auto rifle. A bolt action and a semiautomatic 308 would make a nice combination.

Whatever you choose, try to keep it within military calibers and military weapons if possible.

It may seem that I have something against bolt rifles but I don’t. I think they are fantastic weapons, but I think that semi autos are much better fighting weapons. The idea of “picking them out” 300 meters away with your bolt rifle, as they come in a row blowing whistles and firing warning rounds is laughable at best. Bolt rifles do have advantages over semi autos, accuracy not being the most important one. Bolt rifles such as Mausers last forever and are harder than rocks, and THAT’S important. They are simple, easy to repair tools that will serve you (within their limitations of course) longer than any other weapon. For example, the coil spring on my Mauser 1891 safety broke into 3 separate parts, after almost 100 years of faithful service. I dug into my tool box and found a spring left over from a kitchen shelve door. I cut it approximately to the length of the previous spring, replaced it and the rifle was fixed. There are not many weapons that allow this. And it is a very valuable attribute once the [catastrophe hits] and spare parts are no longer available.

Stick to common calibers, 223, 7.62x39mm, or 7,62x51 (308). 223 vs. 308? I’m not going there. If you prefer 223 because it has less recoil, it’s lighter, or you favor the AR rifle go ahead. If you think that 223 is more powerful than 7,62 sign up to Physics I.
Just remember what I said before, a survivalist is not a soldier serving in Iraq, and you don’t have the entire USMF to back you up. You are on your own. You are not going to pin your attackers down with a questionably effective round and wait until someone hits them with artillery.

About ARs… I wouldn’t trust my life to a rifle that has more versions than Rocky sequels… the way I see it, it means that the basic design was the problem and there is no solution. On AK … all has been said. The most popular rifle on the planet, and popular not because of politics, but because it works. It also fires an intermediate power, effective round, available world wide. SKS are also good, but I’d rather have removable magazines. Again, don’t use voodoo on me because I say I wouldn’t trust my life to a AR. If you keep your weapon clean, know its limitations and feel comfortable with it, go for it please. A couple of rounds of 223 will kill anyone just as well.

If you want a rifle that can do a little bit of everything relatively well, do yourself a favor and get either a M1A or a FAL in 7,62 (308) with a carbine length barrel. Preferably with a red dot scope and some kind of light mount. Leave full length barrels to hunters and bench rest shooters. Do your homework on both guns and you’ll see what I mean.
Choose 308 not because of the added range you can get out of it, but because of its power at all ranges, choose it because it turns cover into concealment. Think about all the possible cover material you can find in a city, like cars, trees, low walls and other structures. The 308 will go right through it, or destroy it after a few rounds. It’s a proven cartridge through out the years.

Shotguns.

Shotguns are good general purpose guns. The main advantage I see is the devastating stopping power and the ability to use special ammo, like slugs and less than lethal ammo. I’m not so sure about the role as an “inside house” gun. The muzzle blast is great and quick follow up are not easy, especially when adrenalin is pumping through your system or, even worse, when someone is shooting back at you.

Pistol caliber carbines and SMG.

If possible , I’d choose a SMG reduced to semi auto (only if necessary, of course, full auto selector is better if possible ) or other kind of short, small, pistol caliber carbine. The combination of a 9mm handgun and a 9mm carbine or SMG reduced to semi auto or full auto class III has lots of advantages in my book and is a fine combination.
Some think that full auto is a waste of ammo. I don’t think so, not if you know how to use your head, and use this feature wisely. If you can get a short barrel and collapsible stock, you’ll also have a weapon that can be hidden under a heavy coat. A red dot scope would enhance accuracy a lot. The advantage of having the same ammo for long and small arm is not to be taken lightly. From the logistical, survivalist point of you, this is one big thumbs up! Think about cowboys and Americans that lived in the west, they also knew the value of using the same ammo for rifle and handgun. They had single action handguns and lever action handguns chambered for the same ammo, the modern survivalist can have the same ammo for his auto pistol and his sub-rifle as well.

Some think that a pistol caliber long arm is just one big clumsy pistol or a rifle sized gun that delivers pistol power and accuracy. This is BS. Anyone that ever fired a pistol caliber rifle or SMG knows that they are much more accurate, hitting torso targets at 100 yards is easy, and a little more if you have a red dot scope. Also, SMGs can manage hot ammo specially made for such guns, much more powerful than the one for handguns. Even if you use regular handgun ammo, the added barrel length adds a few extra feet per second making it more powerful. Just check the information on boy armor. Body armor that is rated to stop 9mm, for example, is not rated to stop the same 9mm ammo out of a SMG or carbine, because the added speed will make that same round penetrate the vest. Anyway, +P ammo is more than enough power out of a SMG or carbine, you don’t have to go looking for special SMG ammunition.

If you can get full auto that’s one nice feature to have, not worth it if you are on a tight budget, but if you can get it, it may come in handy someday. Full auto SMG are giving police in my country a lot of headaches. A criminal with little or no training will put 3 or 4 cops armed with pistols and shotguns on their toes, just because of the sheer volume of fire these high capacity 9mm deliver. There was this case of a bad guy standing in front of a patrol car full of cops on a red light stop, pulling a 9mm SMG out of his coat and emptying it on full auto. The cops didn’t have a chance, he killed them all. The car looked like Swiss cheese with 40 9mm holes all over the vehicle.

SOUND SUPPRESSORS

All I’m going to say on this subject is: Have one if you can. That’s it. I’ll leave the rest of it to your imagination, don’t make me say it. Today it may seem like a “nice to have” feature… after the [collapse], it may be a “O God I’ve got to get a suppressor!!” feature.
I’d buy a good suppressor instead of a ultra high dollar scope like the SOG. Buy a good quality scope, but don’t spend a fortune on it, and use the rest of the money on a suppressor. If you are serious about preparing for [the survival scenario], you’ll thank me one day, just trust me on this one. 9mm and 45 suppress quite well. Not as well as .22 , but there is much more power on the big bore ammo. Combined with a full auto SMG, the possibilities are much greater. Sometimes it’s just better to go unnoticed, especially in a [catastrophic] crisis.

BODY ARMOR

---------! Buy body armor PLEASE!! It’s dirt cheap in USA. Preferably, get the police concealable kind (class II) Then continue to work on it and get class III A military armor and some rifle plates, just as you do when you start buying guns. You’ll end up with 2 or 3 sets of armor which are great to have for family members and spares. Just so you know, I got so desperate about body armor I ordered it from USA through internet (bulletproofme.com), I ended up paying a total of nearly 600 USD for body armor that costs 200 USD in USA. Buy it while you still can. When the [catastrophe strikes] you’ll end up wearing it, believe me. I don’t wear mine all day long but I do wear it when I have to go some place dangerous, deal with people I don’t trust, or when I have to go teach Architecture Representation late at night, and must travel through a much dangerous road at 12 AM.

Post-Collapse Survival, 2

2009-02-19T08:00:00.005-05:00

Here is the second part of a report by a man who survived the Argentinian collapse of 2001. It originally appeared over at frugalsquirrels.com.

THOUGHTS ON URBAN SURVIVAL, PART II

GRAY/BLACK MARKET

Once the [system collapses] the black/gray market will take no time to appear all around you.
In my country, gray markets were even accepted in the end. At first it was all about trading skills or craft products for food. Districts and towns would form their own barter markets, and created their own tickets, similar to money, that was used to trade.
This didn’t last long. Those tickets were easy to make on your home computer, there was no control and eventually people went back to paper money.

These markets were usually placed on warehouses or empty land, and were managed by some wise guy and a few thugs or hired security. Anyone can go rent a kiosk inside these markets for about 50-100 pesos (about 20-30 dollars) a day and sell his goods and services. Peace within these markets is usually respected… lets just say that these managers don’t call the police if someone tries anything funny, like stealing, fighting or taking advantage of women. That’s not good for their business and anyone that tries to mess with their business finds out how much pain the human body can actually experience or gets a free ticket to meet the Lord. Sometimes even uniformed cops manage security on these markets, for a small fee of course. As always, you still have to be careful. They may still try to pick your pockets or even attack you once you leave the market. Once you leave the market, you are on your own, as always.

These markets evolved and now a lot of different products are available. Today I visited my local market, a warehouse that is fairly well set up and cleanly managed. They had problems for selling stolen merchandise and fake brand name clothes a few days ago.
What can be found at the local markets? Mostly food and clothing. Some have more variety than others but cheese, canned food, spices, honey, eggs, fruits, vegetables, beer, wine and cured meat are generally available, same as bakery products and pasta. These are less expensive than those found at supermarkets. Fresh fish is sometimes available but not always, people don’t trust many products that need refrigeration, and they get those at supermarkets instead.

Clothes are also popular and you can find copies of brand name clothes, imitations, or even original stolen new clothes, the same goes for shoes and sneakers. Children clothes, underwear, socks, sheets and towels are all very popular. Some sell toys, but they are always China made, mostly poor quality though there are some few exceptions. Others sell tools, also made in China can be found as well, but they are of poor quality. Some offer their services and repair stuff or offer work as handyman.
You would be amazed of the junk that these guys manage to fix: TVs, CD players, Power tools, etc. They even manage to solder the small integrated circuits boards sometimes. Give one of these guys a screw driver and a bar of chocolate and he will fix a nuclear submarine.

After food and clothes, the 3rd most popular item has to be CDs and DVDs, movies, music, play station 2 and Xbox games, programs, it all ends up there just one or two days after the official release in USA. Seems that they have a guy hidden under Bill Gate’s desk or something. Anyway, almost everything can be found there, and if you want, you can ask around, talk to the right guy and buy illegal stuff like drugs or black market guns and ammo. The quality of the drugs is questionable, of course, and a lot of addicts die from the mixtures these guys sell.
Guns are mostly FN High Powers, Surplus 1911s and Colt .45s, Sistemas, and old Colt Detective revolvers in 38 special that found their way from police and military armories into the black market. Condition isn’t very good but if you have money you’ll be amazed of what you can end up with. Everything that is used by the military and police, including SMGs a, Browning 50 BMG Machine guns, and even frag grenades, is available in the black market, if the customer has the amount of money and a little patience, of course. The big guns may take a while, but the handguns and grenades are readily available.

GOLD!!

Someone hit me in the head please because I messed up about the gold issue.

Everyone wants to buy gold! “I buy gold. Pay cash” signs are everywhere, even on TV! I can’t believe I’m that silly! I just didn’t relate it to what I read here because they deal with junk gold, like jewelry, either stolen or sold because they needed the money, not the gold coins that you guys talk about. No one pays for the true value of the stuff, so big WARNING! Sign on people that are buying gold coins. Since it is impossible to determine the true mineral percentage of gold, small shops and dealers will pay for it as regular jewelry gold. What I would do if I were you: Besides gold coins, buy a lot of small gold rings and other jewelry. They should be less expensive than gold coins, and if the [situation gets really] bad, you won’t be losing money, selling premium quality gold coins for the price of junk gold. If I could travel back in time, I’d buy a small bag of gold rings. Small time thieves will snatch gold chains right out of your neck and sell them at these small dealers found everywhere. This is VERY common at train stations, subways and other crowded areas.

So, my advice, if you are preparing for a small economical crisis, gold coins make sense. You will keep the value of the stuff and be able to sell it for its actual cost to gold dealers or maybe other survivalists that know the true value of them. In my case, gold coins would have been an excellent investment, saving me from losing money when the local economy crashed. Even though things are bad, I can go to a bank down town and get paid for what a gold coin is truly worth, same goes for pure silver. But where I live, in my local area small time dealers will only pay you the value of junk gold, no matter what kind of gold you have. So, I’d have to say that if [the situation gets really] bad, gold jewelry is a better trade item than gold coins.

Post-Collapse Survival

2009-02-17T08:00:00.002-05:00

This is part 1 of a treatise on surviving a total economic collapse. The difference about this particular author is that he writes from firsthand experience. He wrote this in 2005 to chronicle his observations following Argentina's 2001 economic disaster. It originally appeared over at frugalsquirrels.com.

The only changes I've made are to clean up the language a bit, and maybe correct a typo or two. Thanks to my barber for sending me the link to this article

THOUGHTS ON URBAN SURVIVAL

Life in Post-Collapse Argentina, Oct. 2005

My brother visited Argentina a few weeks ago. He’s been living in Spain for a few years now. Within the first week, he got sick, some kind of strong flu, even though the climate isn’t that cold and he took care of himself. Without a doubt he got sick because there are lots of new viruses in my country that can’t be found in 1st world countries. The misery and famine lead us to a situation where, even though you have food, shelter and health care, most others don’t, and therefore they get sick and spread the diseases all over the region.

What got me started on this post is the fact that I actually saw this coming, and posted on the subject here at Frugal’s, [frugalsquirrels.com] months before the new viruses spread over the country and the news started talking about this new health emergency, which proves that talking, thinking and sharing ideas with like-minded people (you guys), does help me to see things coming and prepare for them with enough time. So I started thinking about several issues, what I learned (either the hard way or thanks to this forum) after all these years of living in a collapsed country that is trying to get out an economical disaster and everything that comes along with it. Though my English is limited, I hope I’m able to transmit the main ideas and concepts, giving you a better image of what you may have to deal with some day, if the economy collapses in your country. Here is what I have so far:

URBAN OR COUNTRY?

Someone once asked me how did those that live in the country fare. If they were better off than city dwellers. As always there are no simple answers. Wish I could say country good, city bad, but I can’t, because if I have to be completely honest, and I intend to be so, there are some issues that have to be analyzed, especially security. Of course those that live in the country and have some land and animals were better prepared food-wise. No need to have several acres full of crops. A few fruit trees, some animals, such as chickens, cows and rabbits, and a small orchard were enough to be light years ahead of those in the cities. Chickens, eggs and rabbits would provide the proteins, a cow or two for milk and cheese, some vegetables and fruit plants covered the vegetable diet, some eggs or a rabbit could be traded for flour to make bread and pasta or sugar and salt.

Of course that there are exceptions, for example, some provinces up north have a desert climate, and it almost never rains. It is almost impossible to live off the land, and animals require food and water you have to buy. Those guys had it bad; no wonder the northern provinces suffer the most in my country. Those that live in cities, well they have to manage as they can. Since food prices went up about 200%-300%. People would cut expenses wherever they could so they could buy food. Some ate whatever they could; they hunted birds or ate street dogs and cats, others starved. When it comes to food, cities suck in a crisis. It is usually the lack of food or the impossibility to acquire it that starts the rioting and looting when [things get bad].

When it comes to security things get even more complicated. Forget about shooting those that mean you harm from 300 yards away with your MBR [main battle rifle]. Leave that notion to armchair commandos and 12 year old kids that pretend to be grown ups on the internet.

Some facts:

1) Those that want to harm you/steal from you don’t come with a pirate flag waving over their heads.

2) Neither do they start shooting at you 200 yards away.

3) They won’t come riding loud bikes or dressed with their orange, convict just escaped from prison jump suits, so that you can identify them the better. Nor do they all wear chains around their necks and leather jackets. If I had a dollar for each time a person that got robbed told me “They looked like NORMAL people, dressed better than we are”, honestly, I would have enough money for a nice gun. There are exceptions, but don’t expect them to dress like in the movies.

4) A man with a wife and two or three kids can’t set up a watch. I don’t care if you are SEAL, SWAT or John . . . Rambo, no 6th sense is going to tell you that there is a guy pointing a gun at your back when you are trying to fix the water pump that just broke, or carrying a big heavy bag of dried beans you bought that morning.

The best alarm system anyone can have on a farm are dogs. But dogs can get killed and poisoned. A friend of mine had all four dogs poisoned on his farm one night, they all died. After all these years I learned that even though the person that lives out in the country is safer when it comes to small time robberies, that same person is more exposed to extremely violent home robberies. Criminals know that they are isolated and their feeling of invulnerability is boosted. When they assault a country home or farm, they will usually stay there for hours or days torturing the owners. I heard it all: women and children getting raped, people tied to the beds and tortured with electricity, beatings, burned with acetylene torches. Big cities aren’t much safer for the survivalist that decides to stay in the city. He will have to face express kidnappings, robberies, and pretty much risking getting shot for what’s in his pockets or even his clothes.

So, where to go? The concrete jungle is dangerous and so is living away from it all, on your own. The solution is to stay away from the cities but in groups, either by living in a small town-community or sub division, or if you have friends or family that think as you do, form your own small community. Some may think that having neighbors within “shouting” distance means losing your privacy and freedom, but it’s a price that you have to pay if you want to have someone to help you if you ever need it. To those that believe that they will never need help from anyone because they will always have their rifle at hand, checking the horizon with their scope every five minutes and a first aid kit on their back packs at all times…. Grow up.

SERVICES

What ever sort of scenario you are dealing with, services are more than likely to either suffer in quality or disappear all together. Think ahead of time; analyze possible . . . scenarios and which service should be affected by it in your area. Think about the most likely scenario but also think outside the box. What’s more likely? A tornado? But a terrorist attack isn’t as crazy as you though it would be a few years ago, is it?

Also analyze the consequences of those services going down. If there is no power then you need to do something about all that meat you have in the fridge, you can dry it or can it. Think about the supplies you would need for these tasks before you actually need them. You have a complete guide on how to prepare the meat on you[r] computer… how will you get it out of there if there is no power? Print everything that you consider important.

WATER

No one can last too long without water. The urban survivalist may find that the water is of poor quality, in which case he can make good use of a water filter, or that there is no water available at all. When this happens, a large city where millions live will run out of bottled water within minutes. In my case, tap water isn’t very good. I can see black little particles and some other stuff that looks like dead algae. Taste isn’t that bad. Not good but I know that there are parts of the country where it is much worse. To be honest, a high percentage of the country has no potable water at all.

If you can build a well, do so, set it as your top of the list priority as a survivalist.
Water comes before firearms, medicines and even food. Save as much water as you can. Use plastic bottles, refill soda bottles and place them in a cool place, preferably inside a black garbage bag to protect it from sun light. The water will pick some plastic taste after a few months, but water that tastes a little like plastic is far way better than no water at all. What ever the kind of [survival] scenario you are dealing with, water will suffer.

In my case the economical crash created problems with the water company, that reduces the maintenance and quality in order to reduce costs and keep their income in spite of the high prices they have to pay for supplies and equipment, most of which comes from abroad, and after the 2001 crash, costs 3 times more. As always, the little guy gets to pay for it. Same would go for floods or chemical or biological attacks. Water requires delicate care and it will suffer when [the collapse unfolds] in one way or another. In this case, when you still have tap water, a quality filter is in order, as well as a pump if you can have one. A manual pump would be ideal as well if possible. Estimate that you need a approximately a gallon per person per day. Try to have at least two-four weeks worth of water. More would be preferable.

POWER

I spent WAY to much time without power for my own taste. Power has always been a problem in my country, even before the 2001 crisis. The real problem starts when you spend more than just a few hours without light. Just after the [collapse] in 2001 half the country went without power for 3 days. Buenos Aires was one big dark grave. People got caught on elevators, food rots; hospitals that only had a few hours worth of fuel for their generators ran out of power. Without power, days get to be a lot shorter. Once the sun sets there is not much you can do. I read under candle light and flashlight light and your head starts to hurt after a while. You can work around the house a little bit but only as long as you don’t need power tools. Crime also increases once the lights go out, so whenever you have to go somewhere in a black out, carry the flashlight on one hand and a handgun on the other.

Summarizing, being in a city without light turn to be depressing after a while. I spent my share of nights, alone, listening to the radio, eating canned food and cleaning my guns under the light of my LED head lamp. Then I got married, had a son, and found out that when you have loved ones around you black outs are not as bad. The point is that family helps morale on these situations.

A note on flashlights. Have two or three head LED lights. They are not expensive and are worth their weight in gold. A powerful flashlight is necessary, something like a big Maglite or better yet a SureFire, especially when you have to check your property for intruders. But for more mundane stuff like preparing food, going to the toilet or doing stuff around the house, the LED headlamp is priceless. Try washing the dishes on the dark while holding a 60 lumen flashlight on one hand and you’ll know what I mean. LEDs also have the advantage of lasting for almost an entire week of continuous use and the light bulb lasts forever. Rechargeable batteries are a must or else you’ll end up broke if lights go out often. Have a healthy amount of spare quality batteries and try to standardize as much as you can. I have 12 Samsung NM 2500Mh AA and 8 AAA 800mh for the headlamps. I use D cell plastic adaptors in order to use AA batteries on my 3 D cell Maglite. This turned out to work quite well, better than I expected. I also keep about 2 or 3 packs of regular, Duracell batteries just in case. These are supposed to expire around 2012, so I can forget about them until I need them. Rechargeable NM batteries have the disadvantage of loosing power after a period of time, so keep regular batteries as well and check the rechargeable ones every once in a while.

After all these years of problems with power, what two items I would love to have?

1) The obvious. A generator. I carried my fridge food to my parent’s house way too many times on the past. Too bad I can’t afford one right now.

2) A battery charger that has both solar panel and a small crank. They are not available here. I saw that they are relatively inexpensive in the USA. Do yourself a favor and get one or two of these. Even if they don’t charge as well as regular ones, I’m sure it will put out enough power to charge batteries for LED lamps at least.

GAS (Propane and natural gas)
Gas has decreased in quality as well, there is little gas. Try to have an electric oven in case you have to do without it. If both electricity and gas go down, one of those camping stoves can work as well, if you keep a good supply of gas cans. The ones that work with liquid fuel seem to be better on the long run, since they can use different types of fuel. You can only store a limited amount of compressed gas and once you ran out of it, you are on your own if stores are closed of they sold them out. Anyway, a city that goes without gas and light for more than two weeks is a death trap, get out of there before it’s too late.

A DIFFERENT MENTALITY.

I was watching the People & Art channel with my wife the other night. It was a show where they film a couple for a given period of time and some people vote on who is the one with the worst habits, the one they find more annoying. We were in our bed, and this is when I usually fall asleep but since the guy was a firearms police instructor I was interested and managed to stay awake. At one point the guy’s wife said that she found annoying that her husband spent 500 dollars a month on beauty products for himself. 500 USD on facial cream, special shampoo and conditioner, as well as having his nails polished! If you are that guy and happen to be reading this, or if you know him, I’m sorry, but what an idiot!! “500 USD, that’s a small generator or a gun and a few boxes of ammo” I told my wife. “That’s two months worth of food” she said. We were each thinking of a practical use for that money, the money this guy was practically throwing away. Once the [infrastructure fails], money is no longer measured in money, but you start seeing it as the necessary goods it can buy. Stuff like food, medicine, gas, or the private medical service bill. To me, spending 500 dollars on beauty products, and to make it worse, on a guy? That’s simply not acceptable. The way I see it, someone with that mentality can’t survive a week without a credit card, no use in even considering a [survivalist] scenario.
And this guy is a firearms instructor?… probably the kind of guy that will say that a handgun is only used to fight his way to his rifle… and his facial night cream…

Once you experience the lack of stuff you took for granted, like food , medicines, your set of priorities change all of a sudden. For example, I had two wisdom teeth removed last year. On both occasions I was prescribed with antibiotics and strong Ibuprofen for the pain. I took the antibiotics (though I did buy two boxes with the same prescription just to keep one box just in case) but I didn’t use the Ibuprofen, I added it to my pile of medicines. Why? Because medicines are not always available and I’m not sure if they will be available in the future. Sure, it hurt like [*!@#], but pain alone isn’t going to kill you, so I sucked it up. Good for building up character if you ask me.

Make sacrifices so as to ensure a better future, that’s the mentality you should have if you want to be prepared. There’s stuff that is “nice to have” that has to be sacrificed to get the indispensable stuff. There’s stuff that is not “basic need stuff” but it’s also important in one way or another. My wife goes to the hairdresser once every month or two. It’s not life or death, but it does make her feel better and it boosts her morale.
I buy a game for the Xbox or a movie to watch with my wife every once in awhile, just to relax. 7 or 10 dollars a month are not going to burn a hole in my pocket. Addictions such as alcohol, drugs or even cigarettes should be avoided by the survivalist. They are bad for your health; cost a lot of money that could be much better spent, and create an addiction to something that may not be available in the future. Who will have to tolerate your grouchy mood when your brand of smokes is no longer imported after [the crash]?

Motivation and Talent

2009-02-13T10:44:00.009-05:00

The following comes from the 2/06/09 MAPP Newsletter:

The Relationship Between Motivation and Talent

Hydrogen and oxygen are distinctly different elements, but sometimes they combine to form water. Something similar is true for motivation and talent.

Motivation is what we LIKE to do naturally. Talent is what
we DO well naturally. They can exist independently, but when
they combine, they create something special. They create
motivated talents.

People often are naturally good at something (talented), but it
just doesn’t turn them on. For example, Heather is good with
numbers, but she doesn’t go out of her way to find tasks calling
for that talent. Most people have such talents. But then there
are those talents that we really enjoy using. These are the
motivated talents, and this is where the magic is.

We use motivated talents every chance we get. Most of the time
we don’t even think about it. For example, Larry has a motivated
talent for conversation, and he naturally engages both friends and
strangers in dialog. He doesn’t consciously determine to do so;
it just happens. It’s natural and unforced. He enjoys it, and
he’s good at it. That’s the hallmark of a motivated talent.

Motivated talents tend to be irrepressible. They find expression.
In fact, if you’ve ever tried to stifle a motivated talent (either
yours or someone else’s) it probably felt like you were trying
to hold two dozen ping pong balls under water at the same time.
Motivated talents pop out, even if no one else is asking for them.
And doesn’t that make sense? After all, it’s what we do well
AND enjoy.

Well then, wouldn’t the ideal job be one where you can use your
motivated talents daily and get paid for it? Absolutely! But
more on that later.

What are your natural motivations? Shouldn’t your boss know? You
can let him/her know by giving them a copy of you own MAPP Assessment.

Take the MAPP Career Assessment Free

Foundations of the Free Market, 6

2009-02-10T11:19:00.000-05:00

Continued from "Foundations of the Free Market, 5"

So far, I have shown that God created man with a purpose of taking dominion over the world. The division of labor has provided a multitude of legitimate ways to participate in the dominion mandate.

Now I will address the appropriate Biblical means to accomplish man's appointed task. You will find it in its most profoundly brief form in the Eighth Commandment:

Thou shalt not steal. (Exo 20:15)

This succinct command is pregnant with implications for the free market. First and foremost, God allows people exclusive rights to property. (i.e., If no one owned anything, then theft would exist, if at all, only as a theoretical concept.)

Scripture sets forth numerous ramifications of the right to property, including

The right to the fruit of one's labors (Luke 10:7; II Tim. 2:6)
The right to negotiate the compensation for one's labor (Matt. 20:13, which also teaches the validity and enforceability of contracts)
The right to true weights and measures in the marketplace (Prov. 20:23)
The right to dignity regardless of possessions (Prov. 17:5)
The right to justice regardless of possessions (Exodus 23:3, 6)

These expanded applications of the Eighth Commandment along with many more in Scripture teach that you have a right to own property, to labor and to enter into contract with others freely and without coercion.

Thus, an exclusive right to property also implies the right to dispose of that property as one sees fit. You may cooperate with others to give, trade, sell or buy property. Wherever such an exchange takes place, you have a market. Wherever the exchange is voluntary (free from coercion), you find a free market.

There is a book that each of my home-educated children has read. It is called The Law, and it was written by Frederic Bastiat. The book logically and systematically demonstrates that the command "Thou shalt not steal" precludes intrusions into the market place by civil authority.

Bastiat rightly identifies socialistic redistribution of wealth as "legalized plunder". Uncoerced enterprise in a free market is the only economic system that preserves and protects the rights established by the Eighth Commandment.

You may click on the link to download a pdf copy of The Law.

Ron Paul: Abolish the Fed

2009-02-05T16:15:00.002-05:00

Apropos of Tuesday's post, I received the following email from rpc today:

Subject: Let's jump on this: The Federal Reserve Board Abolition Act, H.R. 833.

He has done it.
He needs cosponsors.
The iron is warm. Let's heat it up.
There are more of us.
He is working for us and he is a courageous man.
Stand with him.
The next generations are amongst us. I don't want them to live under tyrants.
GJF
Ron Paul
Before the US House of Representatives, February 4, 2009, introducing the The Federal Reserve Board Abolition Act, H.R. 833.

Madame Speaker, I rise to introduce legislation to restore financial stability to America's economy by abolishing the Federal Reserve. Since the creation of the Federal Reserve, middle and working-class Americans have been victimized by a boom-and-bust monetary policy. In addition, most Americans have suffered a steadily eroding purchasing power because of the Federal Reserve's inflationary policies. This represents a real, if hidden, tax imposed on the American people.

From the Great Depression, to the stagflation of the seventies, to the current economic crisis caused by the housing bubble, every economic downturn suffered by this country over the past century can be traced to Federal Reserve policy. The Fed has followed a consistent policy of flooding the economy with easy money, leading to a misallocation of resources and an artificial "boom" followed by a recession or depression when the Fed-created bubble bursts.

With a stable currency, American exporters will no longer be held hostage to an erratic monetary policy. Stabilizing the currency will also give Americans new incentives to save as they will no longer have to fear inflation eroding their savings. Those members concerned about increasing America's exports or the low rate of savings should be enthusiastic supporters of this legislation.

Though the Federal Reserve policy harms the average American, it benefits those in a position to take advantage of the cycles in monetary policy. The main beneficiaries are those who receive access to artificially inflated money and/or credit before the inflationary effects of the policy impact the entire economy. Federal Reserve policies also benefit big spending politicians who use the inflated currency created by the Fed to hide the true costs of the welfare-warfare state. It is time for Congress to put the interests of the American people ahead of special interests and their own appetite for big government.

Abolishing the Federal Reserve will allow Congress to reassert its constitutional authority over monetary policy. The United States Constitution grants to Congress the authority to coin money and regulate the value of the currency. The Constitution does not give Congress the authority to delegate control over monetary policy to a central bank. Furthermore, the Constitution certainly does not empower the federal government to erode the American standard of living via an inflationary monetary policy.

In fact, Congress' constitutional mandate regarding monetary policy should only permit currency backed by stable commodities such as silver and gold to be used as legal tender. Therefore, abolishing the Federal Reserve and returning to a constitutional system will enable America to return to the type of monetary system envisioned by our nation's founders: one where the value of money is consistent because it is tied to a commodity such as gold. Such a monetary system is the basis of a true free-market economy.

In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to stand up for working Americans by putting an end to the manipulation of the money supply which erodes Americans' standard of living, enlarges big government, and enriches well-connected elites, by cosponsoring my legislation to abolish the Federal Reserve.

Money, Banking and the Federal Reserve

2009-02-03T15:07:00.000-05:00

This video presents an outstanding explanation of money and fractional reserve banking along with an accurate account of the Federal Reserve's founding. Many do not realize that from its inception, the Fed has existed to benefit the few at the expense of the many.

Although the video is rather long (about 41 minutes), its educational value makes it well worth the watch.

Foundations of the Free Market, 5

2009-01-29T00:37:00.000-05:00

Continued from "Foundations of the Free Market, 4"

Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

(Mat 28:16-20)

Up to this point, I have shown that humanity's first calling and assignment from God is to subdue the earth and to take dominion over it. God provided the Garden of Eden as the original template for that dominion mandate.

In the last post, I also demonstrated that the dominion mandate has not passed into oblivion but is still in effect. But sin has altered man and put him at odds with God and with God's declared purposes.

Therefore, God has given dominion to Jesus the Anointed, the representative New Man. In Him, God has called and redeemed a people to share in that dominion (II Tim. 2:12).

That in the dispensation of the fulness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth;

(Eph 1:10)

In order for man to exercise godly dominion over the earth, however, he must first come under the dominion of King Jesus. And please notice that the Great Commission, as quoted at the beginning of this post, sets for us the precise goal of bringing the nations under His command.

Please understand that I am not saying that God's redemptive plan merely serves the purpose of fulfilling the dominion mandate. I do not believe that redemption is in any way subservient to the dominion mandate.

I do believe that both the Great Commission and the dominon mandate have both come from God and serve to express His sovereignty over man and over creation by and through man.

The Banking Crisis

2009-01-27T02:02:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Gary North for drawing the following video to my attention. I even like the music up until about halfway through.

Foundations of the Free Market, 4

2009-01-22T11:14:00.002-05:00

Continued from "Foundations of the Free Market, 3"

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

(Gen 1:26)

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

(Gen 1:28)

Did the Dominion Mandate to subdue the earth survive humanity's fall into sin? There are those who claim the mandate died with Adam & Eve's innocence in the Garden. I would like to present evidence to the contrary.

As the verses above indicate, God gave man the assignment to subdue the earth, with particular reference to animal life. Because all earthly authority comes from the Creator, every exercise of authority also carries responsibility.

Let me put it another way: human authority is a responsibility that comes directly from God.

Adam failed to exercise his specific responsibility to safeguard the Garden from trespassers. (For an explanation of this, see my post "Origin of Man's Protective Sheepdog Function" over at the WARSKYL blog.) When the serpent entered the Garden to challenge God's rightful place over man, Adam should have ejected him.

Adam did not assert his authority over a beast that questioned the order of things. His failure was immanently related to responsibility to exercise authority over the beasts of the earth.

So, when Adam failed, did the Lord remove that responsibility from him? To answer that, let's look at the events leading up to the Great Flood.

And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make thee an ark . . . . And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die. But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee. And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.

(Gen 6:13-19, emphasis added)

God laid upon Noah the responsibility of seeing that the animals survived the deluge. In one sense, we could say that God saved Noah -- he found grace in the eyes of the LORD, Gen. 6:8 -- and Noah, in turn, saved the animals.

This is the same dominion responsibility that God gave to Adam & Eve in the Garden. It did not perish in the Fall. But there is another, even more explicit evidence for the survival of the Dominion Mandate.

Take a look at Psalm 8:

O LORD our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth! who hast set Thy glory above the heavens.

Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast Thou ordained strength because of Thine enemies, that Thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.

When I consider Thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the Son of Man, that thou visitest Him?

For thou hast made Him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned Him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.

O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

(emphasis added)

Some may object that this is a messianic Psalm (see Hebrews 2:6-8) and refers to Jesus alone. But this passage makes it clear that it applies to Him as the Son of Man. That is, he exercises dominion as the Representative Man (as the title Son of Man implies), as the Second Adam.

At the Triumphal Entry, Jesus demonstrated His rightful dominion by riding on an unbroken colt (Luke 19:30-33).

Thus, the Dominion Mandate survived the Fall, and we must make sure that it figures into our economic theory as well as our vocational practice.

Continued in "Foundations of the Free Market, 5"

Discerning God's Will for Your Vocation

2009-01-20T10:03:00.002-05:00

Back when I was a teen (in a previous millennium), I used to hear a lot of youth leaders preach and teach about "finding God's will for your life." The path they set us on was basically to pray until the Lord gave us "peace" about what we were supposed to do.

Those messages often came with the warning that if we did not do this, we might "miss God's perfect will" for our lives. It would be a tragedy to settle for God's second best.

The "God's perfect will" messages hit us at a stage of life when most of us wonder about why we're here, what we should do with our lives, when we crave a rendezvous with destiny. As a consequence, the Christian young folk I knew (myself included) tended to speak about our options in terms of God's will.

"I think it's God's will to go to college (or the army, or to work for my uncle)." "I wonder what college major would be God's will?" "I believe it's God's will for us to go steady." And six months later, "I believe it's God's will for us to break up."

As I look back , I now realize how subjective it all was and how easily we found "peace" about the very thing we wanted to do in the first place. Then we justified it by attributing our own selfish choices it to God's will.

Of course every Christian should desire to do God's will. We were just looking for it in the wrong place. Rather late in life, I discovered some principles based on the Word of God that will guide the seeking Christian not only into God's will for his vocation, but for his family life, Christian service . . . well, every aspect of life.

A few years ago, I put those principles together into a mini-course of five lessons. When my pastor saw the course, he thought enough of it to encourage the youth of our church to all sign up for it.

I am now offering these lessons free of all cost or obligation to anyone who would like to study them. Furthermore, if you'd like to make the course part of your ministry, I will supply the html code so that people can sign up for it right from your own church's (or other ministry's) website rather than having to send them to my business site.

If you're interested in making the course available in this way, contact me at gravelbelly@gmail.com

Here is the link:

Discerning God's Will

NOTE: When I go to that page using Firefox, for some reason the sign-up grid does not load if my Bookmarks or History is open in the sidebar. So, if you don't see the fields for signing up, try closing your sidebar.

Foundations of the Free Market, 3

2009-01-15T01:56:00.001-05:00

Continued from "Foundations of the Free Market, 2"

Before the Fall, Adam and Eve labored to pursue their calling and purpose:

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. (Genesis 1:28)

After the Fall, they labored to survive:

And unto Adam he said, Because thou . . . hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, "Thou shalt not eat of it," cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
(Gen 3:17-19)

This judgment upon Adam marks the beginning of the economics of scarcity. (Mankind's inherent sin and need of redemption are also part of the Fall, but important as they are, these are not my main focus here.) From that time forward, man's wants have exceeded the resources available to supply those wants.

The state of scarcity is not all bad. It has produced certain economically rehabilitative effects on mankind. They include the following:

Men engaged in productive labor have less time to devise mischief;
The division of labor results in more efficient productivity, which tends to enforce cooperation among the members of a society;
It forces man to participate in the original Dominion Mandate, whether he wants to, or not.

Of course, there are those who deny that the Dominion Mandate survived the Fall. I will provide Scriptural evidence that it did indeed survive in "Foundations of the Free Market, 4".

Evaluation for Excellence

2009-01-13T01:33:00.003-05:00

Whether you're competing in the business world or the job market (or competing to keep the job you have), the key to success is excellence. Employers and clients with their heads screwed on straight want to keep excellent service because excellence represents more value for each dollar spent.

That means to recession-proof your business, employment or present job, you need to rise above the mediocre. This raises the question: if excellence is the key to success, what is the key to excellence?

Henry over at assessment.com provides a great insight into what it takes to rise to excellence in one's work:

One comment that is heard time and again about those who demonstrate excellence is, "He/she is a natural at it." They don’t seem to struggle to be excellent; it just flows. That is always a sign of motivation, and therein lies the first key: Motivation is required for excellence. Motivation is what we like to do naturally. It’s like being right or left-handed. We don’t even think about it. We just write. The same is true for people known for excellence. They have a group of motivations that work in concert to help them perform at a higher level. Like all motivations, these were inborn and are as much a part of them as being blue-eyed or tall. But there is a second key: Motivation can be developed. People who demonstrate excellence have identified their motivations and worked hard to develop them. They have added knowledge, skill, experience and practice to consistently produce at the highest levels. By the way, there is a flip side to these two keys, and it is this: The best we can be with low motivation is adequate. No matter how hard we work and desire it, in the long run we will never be excellent at something without high levels of motivation in that area. In other words, if we toil in areas where we have low motivation, we resign ourselves to mediocrity.

He has not told the whole story, to be sure, but what he says makes sense. We tend to be good at what we like, and we tend to like what we're good at.

The Motivational Assessment Personality Profile (a test you can take for free over at assessment.com) will scientifically analyze how various job talents and skills motivate you. You can pay to get more information and insight from the test, but if you are like me, you will be surprised at the insights you get even from the free evaluation.

I recommend you take the free test. But don't buy anything yet, at least until my next post on this subject. Until then, I'd be pleased to hear your reactions to the test results in the comments section.

Online Garage Sale

2009-01-08T11:12:00.001-05:00

While I intend this blog to be about business and economics, I thought I'd pass along this opportunity.

It's not really a career, and the only way to turn it into a business would be to have an attic with an inexhaustible supply of "used stuff". But it IS a way to turn those old video games, golf clubs or vintage records into cash.

A new online store called Triple Clicks is trying to position itself as THE online market for garage sale items. In order to promote their service, they will give you your first listing free.

If you have something to sell, and you're interested, Click Here.

(In the interest of full disclosure, I will benefit from click-throughs that result in free registrations.)

Foundations of the Free Market, 2

2009-01-06T10:29:00.002-05:00

Continued from "Foundations of the Free Market"

In the previous post, I have shown that, in His role as Creator, God is the origin of and the model for productive activity. But how does this affect mankind?

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion . . . .

(Gen 1:26)

As a creature made in God's image, man possesses the ability to produce as an integral part of his nature. Yet he does not possess this potential in an absolute sense, as does the Creator. That is, man cannot create ex nihilo (out of nothing) as God created the world.

God gave man two areas in which to express his productivity:

Dominion over the created realm -- Originally, God put man in Eden, in a garden. Adam was to turn everything outside the Garden (the non-garden) into garden. To subdue the earth meant to impose the garden template on everything that was not garden. This entails meaningful, productive labor.
Procreation -- God told Adam not only to subdue the earth, but to populate it. By themselves, Adam and Eve could not tend a worldwide garden. Therefore, the expansion of the frontiers of the Garden depended on expansion of the work-force. Adam was to share the vision of his vocation with all the generations.

I suspect that the original garden-template included places to produce vegetables, fruits, nuts, etc. as well as ornamental flowers, trees and shrubs. I think our contemporary understanding of parks, groves, truck gardens, orchards, meadows and possibly more were all present in the original garden template.

There is no question that man's fall into sin disrupted and distorted his productive endeavors. Some even say that the Dominion Mandate did not survive the Fall. I would like to address those issues in "Foundations of the Free Market, 3".

Foundations of the Free Market

2008-12-30T11:18:00.002-05:00

There are those who claim that the Bible does not teach a particular system of economics. There are others who claim that, since the Bible teaches that we should love and help our neighbors, that socialism is the most Biblical system.

I would like to make the case -- in a series of posts -- that a society which follows the specific teachings of Scripture will inevitably adopt a free market system.

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. (Gen 1:1)

Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. (Heb 11:3)

Precept #1 is that God is the Creator of all things. He is thus the model of all productive labor:

Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. (Exo 20:9-11)

One corollary of this precept is God's ownership of all that He has made:

For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof. (Psa 50:10-12)

Another corollary of this precept is that the Owner of all things has rightful authority to determine the disposition of all He has made:

Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? (Rom 9:20-21)

This precept and its corollaries (I do not pretend to have listed them all here) are the starting place for all economic theory and practice. That is because, since all things begin with God, our thought about all things must also begin with Him.

Continued in "Foundations of the Free Market, 2"

Happy Nativity-Day

2008-12-25T14:49:00.000-05:00

Our Lord & King's birth has defined the destiny of this world and all its occupants. Most importantly for believers, it heralds the fact of their personal redemption. But it holds other lessons, as well.

This article by Lew Rockwell contains some worthy meditations on economic issues relative to the birth of Christ:

The Economic Lessons of Bethlehem

Purpose

2008-12-23T10:08:00.001-05:00

God from all eternity did by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will, freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass; yet so as thereby neither is God the author of sin; nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures, nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established. (Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter III, par.1)

God predetermines all things, and man has free will. This is the teaching of Scripture, and it is embodied in Reformed theology. To paraphrase R.J. Rushdoony, Predestination does not negate free will; it establishes free will.

The bottom line is that nothing happens outside God's plan, but man is still responsible. (It's a paradox. Get over it)

This means that Christians are called by God, who gifts them with a destiny. It also means that Christians are responsible to co-operate with their calling and destiny.

Part of that calling is to live out the character of Christ in all the departments of life: church, family, society and business. It is that last item that I want to make the focus of this blog -- at least for now.

That is to say, I want to record my observations about what the Bible teaches concerning economic principles (and perhaps even how they apply in our current national & international situation). But I also want to record this as a journal of my own trek into the world of business.

I have recently quit my job to become self-employed. I am not an expert in this field, and in fact I've failed in previous attempts to establish my own business.

Therefore, if you read this blog, don't come looking for an expert (I'M NOT!) who has the blueprint on how to prosper in business. Look at it as someone who is taking the steps, making the journey and will make mistakes as he looks to God's Word for guidance.

In a sense, I mean this blog to act as a sounding board for my ongoing efforts to co-operate with God's calling and destiny in this life, here and now. You are welcome to listen in and to join the conversation, as well.

The Protestant Rationale for Christmas

2008-12-21T13:58:00.000-05:00

From ancient times the people of God have appointed special occasions for remembering and observing the great works of God, and for calling upon God in times of special need. Through the ages the Church has also appointed special days for remembering and rejoicing in the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ; His death, resurrection, and ascension; and the sending of the Holy Spirit. There may also be days recommended for recalling the heritage of the Church, proclaiming its mission, and forwarding its work. All of these may be observed in the public worship of God on the Lord’s Day. While worship on the Lord’s Day is a duty one owes to God, observing special occasions of worship is not obligatory and in such matters the believer’s conscience is not bound. (The ARP Directory of Worship)

There was a day when Puritans, both in England and America banned the celebration of Christmas as a holdover from Romish practices. They appealed to their Regulative Principle of Worship (i.e., that whatever Scripture did not expressly command in worship is forbidden).

I believe their error, as well as that of many today is to think of Christmas primarily as something belonging to the institutional Church. I see it, rather, as an affirmation and an assertion of Christendom: Christ's dominion over every people and nation.

I think Christmas is more about carrying the crown rights of King Jesus into the streets than about retreating into our safety zones for a feel-good time.

Our church is going caroling at 5PM today. The songs proclaim Christ, and we leave a piece of Gospel literature with them, as well. It may be one of the most appropriate evangelistic efforts we make all year long.

Prologue

2008-12-18T16:12:00.000-05:00

That in the dispensation of the fulness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will. (Eph 1:10-11)

My theology is Reformed, and I know that some readers will not like that. Nevertheless, it is so. Therefore, when I read the word predestinate above, I read it with the understanding that the incomprehensible God has included in His eternal decree "all things whatsoever that come to pass."

That is the cornerstone of my presuppositional base, from which this blog (and all my writing) springs. However, you don't have to agree with me to read this blog or to benefit from whatever I may have to say here.

You see, I've found that when most folks argue about predestination, they usually want to argue about the first three letters: pre-. That is, whether or not God marked out the believer's destiny from eternity. They do NOT generally want to question whether or not they HAVE a destiny in Christ. For them, it's a given.

And that's the reason you may benefit from what I write, even though you disagree with my presuppositions. That is to say, IF you are in Christ, God has destined you for an incredible inheritance. And this blog is going to address how Christians co-operate with their destiny and calling in this life.

There are many possible points of focus for a blog such as this. In my next post, I will reveal what the focus for the near-term will be.