Venezuelan Hunger Turns to Looting

Conditions in Venezuela continue to deteriorate, as their society and economy collapse further. From the PanamPost, Recent Wave of Looting Shows Extent of Hunger in Venezuela

The economic crisis and the food shortage in Venezuela is so serious that looting has become commonplace throughout the country. In January alone, nearly 400 small protests and more than 100 instances of looting have taken place across 19 states, according to the Venezuelan Conflict Observatory.

On Saturday, January 13, Venezuelans began looting for food in the states of Guárico and Zulia.

In Maracaibo — the capital of Zulia — residents looted a supermarket after waiting hours in line to buy corn flour. Violence broke out when they were informed that only members of pro-government community councils could make purchases…

The Bolivarian National Guard has been tasked with keeping the area in order with gunshots and tear gas, but the situation seems irrepressible…

The situation in Venezuela is becoming increasingly worse. Inflation has reached 2,616 percent and the minimum monthly salary is at US $5 — barely enough for a kilo of meat and a carton of 30 eggs…

n January 11, a group of Venezuelans desperate to find food broke into a farm in Merida and dismembered about 40 cows for their meat.

According to Manuel López, President of the Association of Agricultural Producers of the Sur del Lago area, criminals go from farm to farm, extorting producers and asking them to give up an animal. If they don’t,  they destroy everything…

(Twitter)

Cape Town Running Out of Water and SA Land Appropriation

Cape Town, South Africa is expected to run out of water by April 22nd, 2018 due to drought.

One of South Africa’s largest cities, Cape Town, could be the world’s first major municipality to run out of water due to an unprecedented drought.

The city, which is also an iconic tourist destination, has less than a 90-day supply of water left in its reservoirs, meaning residents are forced to ration by taking short showers, flushing the toilet only when necessary and recycling bathing water.

“Day Zero” (or April 22) is when authorities predict the taps will run dry, leaving city officials scrambling to build desalination plants and drill underground water wells.

The drought has been caused by very low rainfall over the past few years and increased water consumption by the city’s growing population.

Cape Town Mayor, Patricia De Lille said its four million residents have to start drastically cutting down on their water. The capped household water usage at 87 litres per person, per day and residents will be fined if they break the rules.

 

Also weighing heavily in South African news, concerns over uncompensated land expropriation continue to heat up.

South Africa could turn into the ultimate paradise if the implementation of the policy of expropriation of land without compensation leads to higher food production, ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa said in Nongoma, Kwazulu-Natal on Sunday.

“In fact, it is possible for us to begin a process of working the land and improving agriculture – making it a very successful factor in our country,” Ramaphosa said, addressing King Goodwill Zwelithini at Osuthu Palace – explaining the ANC’s decision to implement a policy of land expropriation.

Ramaphosa emphasised that the implementation of the ANC’s policy must not harm the economy, the agriculture sector or food security.

“We can make this country the garden of Eden,” the new ruling party head said at a meeting to introduce the ANC’s new top six leaders to the Zulu king. Ramaphosa said redistributed land must be used productively. He estimated that increased food production could grow the economy by two million jobs…

Above sourced from news24.com

The fight for the land ownership is reaching heated levels apparently – it’s “war against the Boer Afrikaner people”, the Boer Afrikaner Volksraad had warned the ANC.

The Afrikaner activist group says it will not recognise any law that makes nationalisation of land without compensation legal, even if it comes from parliament.

“Deprivation, dispossession and occupation of our country in terms of any law shall be considered formal acts of war against the Boer Afrikaner people, which we have to defend against and retaliate with internationally accepted means and methods in order to ensure our ownership and recovery,” wrote the organisation in Afrikaans.

This after the EFF on Tuesday called for the expropriation of land without compensation in parliament. The motion was tabled by EFF leader Julius Malema, who called for black people to unite in ensuring that section 25 of the constitution is amended so to make it constitutionally possible to nationalise the South African land without compensation.

Above sourced from citizen.co.za

TACDA: Food Storage Planning

Here is an older article from the American Civil Defense Association‘s Journal of Civil Defense about planning food storage for emergencies.

“All is safely gathered in, ere the winter storms begin” are    lyrics from the   popular Christian hymn, “Come, Ye Thankful People Come.” Throughout history people have prepared during the plentiful harvests of all for the upcoming winter when food would be scarce and the time to harvest past.  Great comfort could be found in stores of food which would see families through the cold winter. Lack  of  stores  could  result  in hunger,  illness  and  even  death  before  a chance for another harvest.

While winter storms are still an important consideration, our society has a system in place where fresh fruits and vegetables, along with a wide variety of foods, are available year round at local markets. There is little consideration  given  to  preparing  for  the  upcoming  winter  because  of  a  year  round bountiful harvest.  May we suggest this false sense of security may prove to be disastrous?

In  addition  to  winter  storms,  there are  other  dangers  to  consider–  man-made  disasters  such  as  war,  terrorism, EMP (electromagnetic pulse), food contamination,  riots,  civil  unrest  and  the list goes on; as well as natural disasters including earthquakes, hurricanes, fires, floods,  drought,  famine  and  epidemics, which may strike with little or no warning.    We  need  not  look  far  to  see  evidence  of  these  dangers  throughout  the world.    The best way to protect our family is to take personal action.

In this article we will give you information  which  will  help  you  develop  a workable  food  storage  plan  unique  to your  family’s  needs  and  preferences. Then you can take that information and get to work.

Click here to download/read the article (pdf)

Mosby Reveals Advanced Tactical Techniques

John Mosby over at Mountain Guerrilla has written a short piece about firearm fundamentals and the truth about advanced techniques.

Advanced Skills

January 15, 2018

My buddy, Paul Sharp, of Straight-Blast Gym—Illinois, and proprietor of Sharp Defense, posted the following on Social Media:

“When people start talking about advanced techniques my eyes cross. There are no advanced techniques. There are fundamentals honed to perfection through conscious effort. Then there is the application of those fundamentals against ever increasing challenges. The mechanics don’t change, our understanding grows so we’re able to apply the technique against higher and higher levels of resistance. As we advance we face greater resistance and better opponents which causes our understanding of the hows, when’s and why’s to advance. The mechanics remain the same. We become advanced.

Sugar Ray Leonard’s jab wasn’t magically different. His ability to hit anyone he faced at a world class level with his jab was the difference between basic and advanced.

During his seminar JJ Machado taught us all the same guard recovery technique. A guard recovery technique I had been taught my first month of jiujitsu. His ability to apply that technique against the best grapplers in the world is the difference between basic and advanced.

Bruce Gray presented my duty pistol, (a DAO S&W 4586), from a duty rig and hit the A zone of a target that was 25 yards away in a little over 1 second. He used the same draw stroke, mount, and trigger press he had been teaching me. He didn’t teach an advanced drawstroke or trigger press. His ability to make hits in those times with less than optimal equipment was the advanced understanding and application of the technique.

The point is; there is no secret sauce aka advanced techniques. There is advanced application and there is only one way to get there. High level coaching, and practice.”

This is something I’ve discussed in rifle and pistol classes for a long time now…

Click here to continue reading at Mountain Guerrilla

Gun Owners Action League Washington, 2018-2

Legislative Update from Olympia 12 January 2018

GUN RIGHTS RALLY

LEGISLATIVE CALENDAR

NEW GUN BILLS FILED

PUBLIC HEARING SCHEDULED

Somewhere between 125-150 gun rights supporters showed up at the rally
conducted on the Capitol Campus earlier today.Several legislators spoke
to the crowd, including Representatives Matt Shea (R-4), Brian Blake
(D-19), Vicki Kraft (R-17), Morgan Irwin (R-31) and Senator Phil
Fortunato (R-31).After the formal presentations ended, individual
participants visited their legislators’ offices.A big thank you to the
legislators who spoke and to all who made the trek to Olympia to show
the flag..

The following cut-off dates are proposed for bills under consideration
in the 2018 regular legislative session.As a general rule, if a bill
fails to pass a hurdle, it is considered dead for the session.Exceptions
can be made.

2 February Bills must pass out of policy committee

5 February Bills must pass out of chamber fiscal committee (only bills
with major fiscal impact)

14 February Bills must pass out of house of origin (House bills out of
House, Senate bills out of Senate)

23 February Bills must pass out of policy committee in second chamber

26 February Bills with major fiscal impact must pass out of second
chamber fiscal committee

2 March Bills must pass out of second chamber (House bills out of Senate,
Senate bills out of House), except for bills in a conference committee
to iron out differences in House/Senate versions,budget bills and
initiatives.

8 March Sine die – close of regular legislative session.

HB 2363, by Rep. Pellicciotti (D-30), makes any attempt to use a drone
to deliver a deadly weapon to an incarcerated individual a Class C
felony.SB 6146, by Sen. Saldada (D-37), repeals RCW 9.41.290, our state
preemption law, that prohibits local government from passing its own gun
laws.I believe Washington was first in the nation with this, 35 years
ago.42 states now have preemption laws. If this passes, every county,
city and town can pass their own gun control laws, a patchwork quilt of
laws that will trip up gun owners traveling across the state.SB 6247, by
Sen. Dhingra (D-45), prohibits firearm possession by individuals with a
history of violence who are not deemed competent to stand trial.

The Senate Law & Justice Committee will conduct public hearings on SBs
5992 (trigger devices), 6049 (magazine restrictions), 5444 (modern
sporting rifle registration), 5463 (safe storage) and 6146 (preemption
repeal) on 15 January at 10 a.m. in Senate Hearing Room 4, John A.
Cherberg Building.That is the only public hearing on gun bills scheduled
this week.A strong turnout would help.

BILL STATUS/GOAL POSITION:

HB 1000 Use of deadly force Doglio (D-22)H.PubSaf OPPOSE

HB 1004 Possession of firearms/state of emergency Shea (R-4)H. Jud.. SUPPORT

HB 1015 Limiting restrictions on concealed carry Shea (R-4)H. Jud.. SUPPORT

HB 1122 Safe storage of firearms Kagi (D-32)H. Rules OPPOSE

HB 1134 Assault weapon ban Peterson (D-21)H. Jud. OPPOSE

HB 1174 Firearm safety education in schools Muri (R-28)H. Edu SUPPORT

HB 1181 Prohibiting handgun sales registry Blake (D-19)H. Jud. SUPPORT

HB 1190 Prohibiting handgun sales registry Taylor (R-15)H. Jud. SUPPORT

HB 1270 Encouraging voluntary use of locking devices Harmsworth (R-44) H.
Fin. SUPPORT

HB 1380 Repeals I-594 Shea (R-4)H. Jud.. SUPPORT

HB 1381 Universal recognition of all state CPLs Blake (D-19)H. Jud.. SUPPORT

HB 1387 Assault weapons background check Jinkins (D-27)H. Jud. OPPOSE

HB 1483 Allows destruction of forfeited firearms Lovick (D-44)H. Rules OPPOSE

HB 1529 Use of force Ryu (D-32)H.Pub.Saf.  OPPOSE

HB 1592 Delivery of firearms to LEOs Klippert (R-)H. Jud. SUPPORT

HB 1725 I-594 check exemption for CPL holders Koster (R-44)H. Jud. SUPPORT

HB 1731 Certain exemptions to I-594 Jinkins (D27)H. Rules SUPPORT

HB 1900 Hunter ed funding/NRA license plates Griffey (R-35)H. Trans. NEUTRAL

HB 1933 Transfer of firearms at non-profit events Walsh (R-19)H. Jud. SUPPORT

HB 2293 Bans firearms in daycare facilities (exception) Kagi (D-32)H.
Jud OPPOSE

HB 2306 Allows licensed veterans to carry at Comm Coll Van Werven (R-)H.
Jud. SUPPORT

HB 2329 Strengthens law making CPL data private Walsh (R-19)H. Jud SUPPORT

HB 2363 Drone delivery of firearms to offenders Pellicciotti (D-30)H.
PubSaf SUPPORT

SB 5000 Use of deadly force McCoy (D-38)S. L&J OPPOSE

SB 5050 Assault weapon ban Frockt (D-3)S. L&J OPPOSE

SB 5073 Use of force McCoy (D-38)S. W&M OPPOSE

SB 5216 Firearm safety education in schools O’Ban (R-28)S. K-12 SUPPORT

SB 5441 Involuntary freeze on firearm possession Kuderer (D-)S.HumSer NEUTRAL

SB 5444 Background check for “assault weapons” Frockt (D-46)S.. L&J OPPOSE

SB 5463 Mandatory safe storage of firearms Palumbo (D-S. L&J OPPOSE

SB 5506 Transfer of firearms at non-profit events Zeiger (R-25)S.
Rules SUPPORT

SB 5553 Suicidal, waiver of rights Pedersen (D-43)S. L&J NEUTRAL

SB 5795 Mandatory firearm liability insurance Chase (D-32)S. L&J OPPOSE

SB 5992 Bans certain “trigger devices” Van De Wege (D-24)S. L&J OPPOSE

SB 6049 Bans “high capacity” magazines Frockt (D-3) S. L&J OPPOSE

SB 6146 Repeals state preemption of gun laws Saldana (D-37)S. L&J OPPOSE

SB 6297 Firearm possession with history of violence Dhingra (D-45)S.
L&J REVIEWING

HB = House bill, SB = Senate bill.L&J = Law & Justice, Jud = Judiciary,
PubSaf = Public Safety, HC = Health Care, H. K-12 = House Early
education, Aprop = Appropriations, Fin = Finance, W&M = Ways & Means“S”
before a bill number indicates Substitute (amended).

HEARINGS SCHEDULED:

15 JanSenate JudiciaryHearing Room 4, John A. Cherberg Bldg.

10:00 a.m.SBs 5992, 6049, 5444, 5463 and 6146

(18 JanHouse JudiciaryHearing Room A, John L. O’Brien Bldg)

(1:30 p.m.HB 1122 Executive session only)

LEGISLATIVE HOT LINE:You may reach your Representatives and Senator by
calling the Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000.Toll free!!!The
hearing impaired may obtain TDD access at 1-800-635-9993.Also toll free!!!

1-800-562-6000TDD 1-800-635-9993

OTHER DATA:Copies of pending legislation (bills), legislative schedules
and other information are available on the legislature’s web site at
“www.leg.wa.gov“.Bills are available in Acrobat (.pdf) format.You may
download a free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader from Adobe’s web site
(http://www.adobe.com).You may also obtain hard copy bills, initiatives,
etc, in the mail from the Legislative Bill Room FREE OF CHARGE by
calling 1-360-786-7573.Copies of bills may also be ordered toll free by
calling the Legislative Hotline at (800) 562-6000.You may also hear
floor and committee hearing action live at http://www.tvw.org/ (you need
“RealAudio” to do this, available free at the TVW web site).

By reading the House and Senate “bill reports” (hbr, sbr) for each bill,
you can see how individual committee members voted.By reading the “roll
call” for each bill, you can see how the entire House or Senate voted on
any bill.The beauty of the web site is that ALL this information is
available, on line, to any citizen.

GET THE WORD OUT:If you want to subscribe to the GOAL Post by e-mail,
send a message to “goalwa@cox.net “.Please pass GOAL Post on to anyone
you believe may have an interest in protecting our rights.Better yet,
make a couple of copies of this message, post it on your gun club’s
bulletin board, and leave copies with your local gun shop(s).PERMISSION
IS HEREBY GRANTED TO DUPLICATE OR RED ISTRIBUTE GOAL POST PROVIDED IT IS
REPRODUCED WITHOUT TEXTUAL MODIFICATION AND CREDIT IS GIVEN TO GOAL. I
can be reached at “jwaldron@halcyon.com” or by telephone at (425)
985-4867.Unfortunately, I am unable to mail hard copy GOAL Post to
individuals.Limited numbers of hard copies MAY be available at the
Second Amendment Foundation book table at WAC gun shows.

If you believe you have received this e-mail in error, please e-mail me
at “goalwa@cox.net” with the words “Unsubscribe GOAL Post” in the
subject line.I will remove your name immediately.Keep in mind GOAL Post
is also published on several gun lists.If you received GP via a list,
you must contact that list’s admin to unsubscribe.

Upcoming WAC gun show(s):

Monroe 13-14 January

Puyallup 20-21 January

“The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself,
or the state, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall
be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize,
maintain or employ an armed body of men.”

Article 1, Section 24

Constitution of the State of Washington

Copyright 2018 Gun Owners Action League of WA

CSG: WA Constitution Classes for Jan. 2018

The announced Center for Self-Governance classes for January and February appear to have changed.  Currently the only online class listed is the WA Constitution 200: Legislative class, on Thurs., Jan. 25th.

You do not have to be a CSG student to attend.  You do not have to take the Constitution classes in sequence.

This is a 4 hour online lecture-style class.  Supplies to bring include: paper, pen, a copy of your state constitution and your enthusiasm! This is an interactive class and we look forward to hearing from you.

There is no workbook.

Tuition: $25

The American Civil Defense Assoc.: Radiation Issues

The American Civil Defense Association recently posted a blog post about Radiation Issues reposted from their Journal of Civil Defense after many readers had questions regarding North Korea.

The explosion of a nuclear bomb in the city.

 

The nuclear threat from North Korea has prompted many callers during the past few weeks, asking about the effects and attenuation of radiation.  There is a great deal of misinformation about radiation from fallout. The following old rule of thumb for shelter design still holds true. NBC shelters should have four feet of dirt cover, or three feet of concrete cover to give a minimum PF level of 1,000 from fallout. If a “rainout” should occur, or if the sheltered area is within 1.5 miles of a potential primary target, the shelter will require a minimum of eight to ten feet of cover. Shelter entrances require careful engineering, as most of the radiation exposure will come from these entrance areas.

I recently reviewed a series of articles about Nuclear Weapons Effects, written by Carsten Haaland, of the Oak Ridge national Laboratory. The entire series of articles can be found in our Journal of Civil Defense published in 1990. Some of you may be fortunate enough to still possess these journal articles. I have re-typed, in part, the section on ‘Fallout’ and ‘Rainout’ for this current article.

 FALLOUT FROM NUCLEAR DETONATIONS

Carsten M. Haaland, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

 What is Fallout?

Fallout is the radioactive dust that comes back to earth as a result of a nuclear explosion at the surface of the earth, or at an altitude low enough for the fireball to engulf solid materials. Fallout dust may look like sand, ash or crystals, depending on the kind of material engulfed by the fireball. If the material engulfed is ordinary earth or sand the fallout will look like sand, but if the engulfed material contains calcium to the extent found in concrete buildings or coral, the fallout may look like ashes. Large dense particles will descend faster than very small particles. For this reason, fallout particles several hundred miles downwind from a nuclear surface burst will be very small, somewhat like particles in atmospheric pollution, and the nuclear radiation from the fallout will be greatly reduced.

The danger of fallout arises from the intense and highly penetrating nuclear radiation emitted from it, which produces a potentially lethal hazard to people in the vicinity unless they have protection. Large areas, covering hundreds to thousands of square miles, depending on the yield and number of surface detonations, can be poisoned with fallout such that radiation from the contaminated area is hazardous or lethal to an unprotected person passing through or dwelling in the area, for periods of days to weeks after the detonations.

Click here to continue reading at the TACDA blog

Survival and Austere Medicine, 3rd Edition Link

In 2017, the Remote, Austere, Wilderness & Third World Medicine discussion board moderators released their third Edition of the Survival and Austere Medicine ebook. The third edition grew to over 600 pages compared to the second edition’s 200+pages.

While the original content of the FAQ and the subsequent edition remains valid, we thought it was time it underwent an update again. We hope you will find it useful. It is offered in good faith but the content should be validated and confirmed from other sources before being relied on even in an emergency. It is a tool to help you with medical care in an austere or ‘grid-down’ environment.
When the original FAQ and previous edition were written, there were very few books aimed at the “Practicing Medicine after the End of the World as We Know It” market – however over the last couple of years several books of varying quality have been published, offering information on this topic.
We like to think we are the original “Medicine at the End of the World” guide and our uniqueness in the current market place comes from our history and that it is the collaborative work of a group of experienced medically orientated preppers and survivalists. Between us, we have extensive experience in pre-hospital, austere, remote and third world medicine – both with the military and NGO’s. We do this stuff – we understand the limits of the environment and the issues of supply and improvisation. We have trained lay people to do complex medical procedures and provide health care in their remote communities. We have undertaken community medical needs assessments and the delivery of health care after natural disasters. We have given anaesthetics and done surgery in tents in the back of beyond. While the [stuff] hasn’t hit the fan in Western Countries yet, you don’t have to look far to find accurate analogies to likely Collapse Medicine and between us we have experience working in these locations and situations. This makes our book unique.
The other unique fact about this book is that it remains free! It’s a labour of love for us and we have enjoyed the comradery of putting it together. We are passionate about helping to improve the neglected ‘Band-Aid’ bit of the “Beans, Bullets and Band-Aid’s” mantra
common in prepper and survivalist circles. We have spent countless hours on this book project, not to make money, but to genuinely improve
people’s levels of medical preparedness.

Short Contents:

Medicine at the end of the world

The Context of Austere Medical Practice

What do I need to know?

Organizational Issues

Medical Kits

Clinical Assessment

Emergency Care in an Austere Environment

The Clinical FAQ’s

Infectious Disease and Antibiotics

Sedation and Anesthesia in an Austere Environment

Major Surgical Procedures

Wounds

Family planning, pregnancy, and childbirth

Considerations in Children

Austere Dental Care

The Basic Laboratory

Sterilization and Disinfection

Medical Aspects of Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Warfare

Medical Aspects of Shelter Living

Austere Mental Health Care

Nursing Care in an Austere Environment

Botanical and Herbal Medicine

Primitive Medicine

Survival Aspects of Veterinary Medicine

Austere Medicine Sound Bites and Lessons Learned

Survival Medicine fiction

Reference Books

PDF Link from the Austere Medicine site (22MB)

Local PDF Link if the above does not work (22MB)

Related:

DHS Austere Emergency Medical Support Field Guide (5MB)

The Ship’s Medicine Chest and Medical Aid at Sea (3MB)

Ship Captain’s Medical Guide 22nd Ed. (3MB)

Ethicon Wound Closure Manual (3MB)

Emergency War Surgery 4th Ed. (7MB)

Fundamentals of Combat Casualty Care (7MB)

Communicable Diseases Following Natural Disasters (97KB)

Surgical Care at the District Hospital (7MB)

Primary Trauma Care Manual in District and Remote Locations (744KB)

Where There Is No Dentist (6MB)

Field Manual 4-25.11 First Aid (2MB)

Ditch Medicine: Advanced Field Procedures for Emergencies (9MB – scanned document)

Ranger Medic Handbook (4MB)

A Guide to Medicinal Plants (9MB)

Traditional Herbal Remedies for Primary Health Care (8MB)

The Survival Nurse (20MB)

DoD Prolonged Casualty Care Guidelines (16MB)

Second Amendment Rally in Olympia, Friday, Jan. 12, 2018

Rally 4 UR Rights will be held on the Capitol steps in Olympia on Friday, January 12th, 2018 from 9:00 am until noon. Washington State arms rights activists are rallying to oppose a slew of gun control bills which Democrats, who now hold the majority in both the state House and Senate, hope to pass.

Very important this year, set aside January 12th. We are going to Olympia to Rally for Our Rights again. This year it is very important as we no longer have the safety net of a state senate to stop anything bad for us. As we do each year we are rallying to our representatives. We will have a short rally at 9:00 AM to discuss the current issues regarding our right to keep and bear arms. Following this all attendees are asked to get to your representatives to meet and discuss the issues with them. This is imperative this year as they need to know our right to keep and bear arms must be protected. We will have a team there to both help you find your reps and to help you write letters to them as well. In the past these have been quite successful. Those attending were able to get to many of their representatives to meet and speak with them. Let’s do this again folks and see if we can get 1000 people there this year. We know it is a weekday so please do whatever is necessary to get that day free. It is more important than ever this year.

Please note: We would like to ask anyone that carries firearms to please keep them holstered or slung. Each of us is responsible for our own actions. That includes both appropriate safety and conducting ourselves in a respectful manner that will reflect positively on the group as a whole. Thanks and can’t wait to see you all there.

Washington State Capitol
416 Sid Snyder Ave SW, Olympia, Washington 98504

Bundy Charges Dismissed with Prejudice

From AZCentral.com Jan. 8, 2018

Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, his two sons and a militia member will not face a retrial on charges that they led an armed rebellion against federal agents in 2014.

A federal judge on Monday said the federal prosecutors’ conduct was “outrageous” and “violated due process rights” of the defendants.

U.S. District Court Judge Gloria Navarro dismissed the charges against the four men “with prejudice,” meaning they cannot face trial again. She said a new trial would not be sufficient to address the problems in the case and would provide the prosecution with an unfair advantage going forward.

The judge criticized both the prosecution and the FBI for not providing evidence to the defense as required under court rules. “The court finds that the universal sense of justice has been violated,” Navarro said…

Click here to continue reading on AZCentral

Related:

USA Today: Cliven Bundy-FBI Debacle: Another Example of Why the Feds Need to Be Leashed

Selco: How to Stay Warm During a Long-Term SHTF Situation

The Organic Prepper website has posted an interview with Selco — a survivor of the Balkan war, who has written extensively on survival topics — about staying warm in long term survival crises.

How did people stay warm? 

We can say that first step was that people simply “shrunk“ their living space.

For example, if a family of people had a house with six rooms they simply stopped using four rooms, and they lived in two rooms only, because of a simple reason – it was easier to heat two rooms only.

To get wood for heating was a hard process and often dangerous, so how much fuel you spent in your home was a matter of staying alive. 

Old style wood stove with a smoke-exhaust-pipe (that would be put through the hole in the wall to outside- if a chimney-exhaust system was not existing in that room.

Comfort was completely forgotten because of necessity. 

Also people insulate their homes with what they had. A majority of windows were crushed (glass) because of detonations (shelling), so people blocked window openings with what they had.

Blanket, pillows, nylons, and tarps were used for that. Also, duct tape was a very useful item. 

Homes were kinda rearranged in order to make it more energy efficient in very rudimenrtary ways. For example, if a house had smoke exhaust just in the kitchen but that kitchen was not good for having wood stove there, then simply stove was moved from that kitchen into the desired room. A hole was made in that room (for smoke exhaust) and the stove was put there.

You need to understand that homes (houses, apatments) when SHTF were very fast to deteriorate. There was no service to call, remember. Leaks from the roofs, freezing temperatures… all that makes your house quite problematic to live in. We were trying to fix what we could, but insulation was problematic very quickly. A lot of problems could have easily been solved with simple items like insulation foam (in spray containers) for example, but nobody was prepared for SHTF. (Yes, I have it now)…

Click here to continue reading at The Organic Prepper

Epiphany

When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.

When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.

MDT: Purpose Driven SHTF Planning

Mason Dixon Tactical has a new blog post up about practical preparedness planning titled Purpose Driven SHTF Planning.

So what are you planning for? Are you planning to “bugout” to the hills at the first sign of societal trouble? Are you planning to stand fast, and defend hearth and home against the entitlement zombie hordes? Are you planning to thwart the evil empire’s designs on your community, as a member of the militia? Are you basing your preps on some fiction or non fiction book you read that gave you an idea for what might happen? There are plenty of scenarios out there, some plausible, some, not so much, but the important things are these. 1) Do you have general. realistic preps in place. 2) Do you have a solid, well thought out and realistic plan to deal with the general and specific concerns you’ve identified. 3) Are you physically and/or logistically equipped and able to carry out the planned responses to these threats. We’ll talk about these three things in order…

Continue reading at MDT by clicking here

Brandon Smith: Human Courage for Liberty Activists

From Brandon Smith at Alt-Market comes the article Human Courage And Kindness Stand As Obstacles To The Void, explaining the reasons liberty activists disagree on solutions and how to use courage and kindness to over come the same.

Among liberty activists, there is a rather universal consensus on what ails our nation. We understand that there is a concerted and deliberate effort by the establishment to undermine individual rights and constitutional protections. We understand that there is a coordinated effort by international financiers to destabilize our economy and siphon wealth from the middle class until it shrivels up and dies. We understand that there is an organized plan to radicalize the public along ideological lines and pit them against each other. We understand that geopolitics and regional wars are exploited to distract us from underlying issues. There is not very much debate over these realities; the evidence is overwhelming.

However, there is constant disagreement among activists on solutions to these problems, and there are several reasons why this conflict persists. Let’s examine them…

It is these two characteristics that will help to dissolve the conflicts within liberty activism listed above.  It is these two characteristics that defeat tyrants, and so it will be these two characteristics that tyrants will seek to undermine. It is difficult to conquer a people when they are not afraid of sacrifice and when they are not afraid to organize in the real world. It is difficult to isolate people with selfishness when they are driven by the empathy inherent in kindness. ALL solutions, all practical strategies rely on the existence of these two forces within a movement.

As 2017 comes to a close, it is my hope that every liberty activist prepares for more dangerous days ahead. But above all else, their preparations must flow from a foundation of struggle and self sacrifice, foresight and endurance, community and practicality, courage and kindness. If not, then really, what is the point?

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