Modern Survivalist Forum Japan Thread

In the Modern Survivalist Forum there’s a thread about the situation in Japan that I just have to recommend to everyone.

http://www.themodernsurvivalist.com/?page_id=936/general-discussion/sirusblacks-updates-from-japan/

Its been updated since the earthquake hit but the updates of two of the forum members (Sirius Black and Kirima)  living in Japan just make it a terribly valuable source of real world experience. Not just about the quake itself, but of people coping with the blackouts, the daily life afterwards, the supplies that were harder to come by. Maybe it’s the aftermath that I find most interesting, so I greatly appreciate their effort and updates.

I just have to recommend reading through all 6 pages and check every now and them for more updates.

FerFAL

‘Start Crying For Argentina’‏

Hello FerFAL,
I thought this article may be of interest.
http://dailycapitalist.com/2011/04/12/start-crying-for-argentina/
I’m a long-time reader of your blog, and I purchased and recently finished reading your excellent book.
Just curious, but are you still planning on moving to the US? We need more people like you!
Thank you for your great work,
Bryan

Good link, unfortunately so true, so many similarities with this  “new” communism.  Better to keep an eye on Latin America politics. Eventually it may become the new commie giant, but this time just south of the border.
Glad you liked my book, thanks 
Still working on moving and thanks for the support. Given that millions just walk across the border or overstay their visa, I bet a lot of people would be surprised by how hard it is for those of us that want to move to USA doing it the right way.  So much talk about illegals, it would be nice to hear about at least a minimum care for those that dont want to do things the wrong way for a change.
FerFAL

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Safety Tips for expats in Argentina

My friend Rick Davis sent me this email, its safety tips from an expat forum. There’s good info here and valid no matter where you live.
FerFAL

Posted by: “Frances Perry”
Wed Apr 13, 2011 6:58 pm (PDT)
A good security note on tires and then reminder. This was sent out today.
Some unfortunate security incidents have happened to members of our community over the past few days; some of them have occurred on streets. So I would like to take this opportunity to remind you of certain preventive measures that can keep us safe. Here are some precautions to keep in mind:
· According to published statistics, tire thefts increased 30% this year. Most of them were imported tires. One of the reasons for this happening are the import restrictions that went into effect in March 2010.
- Use the parking lot
- Leave nothing in sight inside the car. In some cases, a person who wants to steal a tire will proceed to breaking a window or lock to get inside the car if he sees something inside the car that catches his attention. Have an alarm installed in the car and add safety locknuts for the 5 wheels. These locknuts have a special key that you should keep with you and not in the car.
- If you see a person or vehicle that looks suspicious, let the guard know. There have been cases where the victim said he/she was suspicious of someone but decided not to say anything.
While I am writing about a security topic, let me also add a few additional security tips that can be useful:
· If you need to withdraw money from an ATM, do so during banking hours, at the bank where there is security. ATMs in shopping malls or gas stations are not recommended.
· If you need to go shopping, try to estimate the money you will spend and do not carry much more cash than that with you. Whenever possible use debit and credit cards. A random thief will prefer to rob someone who has cash on them, not someone who is using debit or credit cards. It’s also a very good idea to keep your cash separate from your documents, so that if you are robbed, you only lose your money, and not hard to replace IDs or other documents that contain details about your life.
· When you are on the street, stay aware of what is happening around you. Otherwise, you become an easy target. Using your cell phone while you walk distracts you, and sends others a signal that you are distracted. Also, remember that women are many times involved in street crime—do not think a person or their movements are less suspicious just because it’s a woman.
· If for any reason you think you are going to be robbed, walk faster and try to go into a store or near a police officer, and alert him. If you don’t see a store with guards or a policeman, walk faster and change direction to see if the suspicious person is really following you. Always keep a good distance between yourself and other people– nobody can rob you from a distance. Shouting somebody’s name will make other people think you are not alone. Shouting fire, fire will alert other people and/or neighbors.
· There are cases of phone calls saying that one of your family members has been kidnapped. These are called “Virtual Kidnappings” (secuestro virtual).
There are a few excuses that these “kidnappers” use to engage you in conversation when you answer the phone so that they can demand a ransom for the “kidnapped” person, such as:
- Reporting an accident.
- Saying that they are the police and asking for details.
- Sometimes there is a tape saying the phone call is being made from jail.(Este es un llamado del servicio penitenciario)
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- Repair service from the phone company.
- Any other excuse to engage the person in conversation so they can threaten the victim.
It’s very important not to engage in conversation with someone you don’t know or whose number you don’t recognize. If someone is trying to get your attention like that on the phone, hang up immediately, no matter what their excuse is. If it is something truly important, they will most likely call back. They may also call back to try to get your attention again. If you are still not convinced that it’s a safe call, tell them that you are going to call the police. Do so even if the person who speaks to you speaks perfect English. In one of the incidents this week, the second person who spoke did so in English. If you leave your house, give the people who stay home a way to get in touch with you in case of an emergency.
· If you go downtown try to park in an indoor parking garage.
· When you return to your house, look around for suspicious people or activity. If you see something you don’t like, keep driving, and then call your house to let them know that you are around the block and ask them to call the police. Some people don’t want to bother the police if they are not sure but its better then getting robbed and its one of the ways to avoid becoming a victim.
· If you parked the car outside your house and it’s already dark outside, leave it outside. A family was robbed a year and a half ago because they tried to move the car off the street once it was dark.
· If you go to a restaurant or a bar, try to pick places located in busy areas and that have security guards or police.
· One of the most important points to remember is to not fight back if you are getting robbed. It is extremely risky to try to avoid a robbery once it has begun, and will most likely provoke a violent reaction from the robber(s). Preventive measures can keep us from becoming victims of urban crime, and the correct reaction once we are involved in an incident can save lives.
· Exchanging information and letting people know about incidents that happen to us can help other people stay alert These conversations are very important so that everyone can be aware of personal security issues, and perhaps avoid a difficult situation.
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Saving money and austerity for surviving Hard times

Saving money is one of the things I mentioned as being underrated for survival during current turbulent times so I looked around a bit to see what useful tips I could find.
I came across this website with 101 tips to save money. Most of it is just common sense and I suppose most of my readers already do a lot of it, but I still found the tips refreshing to read even if I don’t agree with a couple of them. Here’s the link.
After reading the list I thought about it and some considerations that would be relevant for survivalists and people that want to be more self reliant during times like these:

1)Taking advantage of every discount and coupons you have available. Specially in USA, you save crazy amounts of money if you take advantage of these, especially on groceries. The only note on this would be buying products of respectable quality and being very careful about “mystery” products. One time there was a tomato sauce on sale in Argentina, turns out it was from China and of such poor (even dangerous) quality that was refused by every other country.

2)Pay your bills on time. Remember how we already see taxes going up and we know this trend will continue as a way of milking the middle class? That also means that the fees and interests for paying late will also go up, getting more bucks out of the middle class, so pay them on time. Then again there’s usually a breaking point when taxes go up TOO much. In that case such a large percentage of people can’t pay them that once a year they come up with plans to regularize your situation with important discounts. In that case (keep in mind this is 3rd world type situation) its better not to pay them on time and pay them once every year or two when the plans are offered. In this case, the guy that had the money to pay for the ridiculously high taxes every month and made the sacrifice to do so is being “punished” while the person that doesn’t pay in time is given chances to pay out of term and for a significant discount. You gotta love socialism.

3)Eat at home. Make your own pizza instead of delivery. Its stupid simple to do pizza and in no time you make one that tastes better, is healthier and much cheaper than the store bought one. For the office, make yourself a sandwich or leave a few yougurts in the office’s fridge. You save money and its healthier than getting a burger, hotdog or some other junk food.

4)I don’t agree with giving up your health center or gym membership. In my opinion it’s the first step to a less healthy life and you’ll regret it in the medium/long run. Its also a way of social interaction and being surrounded by a health conscious environment. You save on the membership but its absolutely not worth it if it will mean you now have a sedentary lifestyle with its health complications. Medical bills are MUCH more expensive than gym memberships.

5)Start reloading. With ammo prices going up its getting harder and harder to shoot. Around here most serious shooters reload. Get into it before the price of the equipment goes up. Don’t forget dry fire practices. Serious shooters do tons of dry fire and your skills significantly improve with it.

6)Review your monthly expenses carefully. Magazine subscriptions you don’t read, cell phone you don’t use? Hidden credit card services leaching money from you?

7) Shop around for a cheaper car/house insurance or maybe getting a plan more according to your budget.

 8)If you’re a hunter, its yet another way to put meat in the freezer for cheap. Get a used chest freezer that works well so as to stock up when you can (Craiglist, ebay )

9)Replace all lights with energy efficient light blubs. The warm ones do nicely and save a lot of energy. They also last much longer.

10) One thing we do is cook once and make enough leftovers for a second dinner as well. This also saves us time and you use less energy as well. If its meat we’re cooking what’s left can be used for stew.
Check the link above, I’m sure you’ll find a few good ideas.
Take care,
FerFAL

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Knife Review: Spyderco Resilience

I bought the Spyderco Resilience because I liked it, but I never expected to love it, and that’s exactly what happened.

If you remember the “The Incredible $99 EDC Kit”, you’ve seen the smaller version of the Spyderco  Resilience, the extremely popular Tenacious included in it. At that time I asked people to show me a better folder in the $30 range. It’s the same case here with the Resilience, only that I like it much better: You will be very hard pressed to find a better knife for that price, or a better knife for twice that money in fact. It’s that good.

Spyderco Tenacious G-10 Handle Folding Plain Edge Knife
Why so? Because you’re buying a top brand, the construction and materials are excellent, the design is proven and makes sense all around. Because it fits perfectly in your pocket and the clip (excellent clip) can be adjusted in all 4 possible positions. Finally, because of the perfectly designed blade shape that is a mixture of good things, thick like a spear point and the slope of a drop point. Just ideal for general purpose use including self defense. The size of the Tenacious was ok, just a bit under 4”. Keep in mind that most “bushcraft” knifes are around 4” give or take. The blade of the Resilience with its 4.25 inches has every bit of blade you want plus that little extra that makes it as good as it is. This knife will slice through tomatoes and filet Mignon thanks to its full flat ground, but also penetrate easily and deep on an attackers body and leave a wide wound channel. While full flat ground is weaker than saber ground, the generous proportions of the blade both on length and width compensates for the grind.
The steel may not be the latest one used by all the cool guys, but it is still excellent and especially with a generous sized blade, all you ask for is ease of sharpening, excellent edge retention and good rust resistance given its carbon content. You get all that with the 8Cr13Mov used to make the Resilience.
Maybe the liner lock isn’t your favorite mechanism, but in this knife is beefy and very well executed. The G10 handles are light and comfortable, with a light checkering.
What more could you possibly ask? As I said in my previous post about begin careful about spending money, the idea of these reviews is to give the reader the information to make the right decision. Let me put it this way: If you don’t have an EDC knife already, or if you’re planning on getting one, get the Spyderco Resilience while its still reasonably priced. I carry a specific fighting folder and a general purpose blade in my Leatherman Charge on daily basis as shown in my EDC gear video. If I would only carry one for all, it would be this knife here.
The Spyderco Resilience can be found on Amazon in the links above, but it can also be found $20 cheaper in one of our Sponsors,  EDC Depot.(only two left!)
Enjoy the video, take care.



FerFAL
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