Reply: Survival in Egypt

Fernando,

Here is a good article on Egypt you will be interested in, reporting on
things that most media ignored, notably a short period of anarchy when
all hell broke loose:

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/02/the_story_of_the_egyptian_revo.html

Here is an excerpt:
"Saturday was indescribable. Nothing that I write can describe the utter
state of lawlessness that prevailed. Every Egyptian prison was attacked
by organized groups trying to free the prisoners inside. In the case of
the prisons holding regular criminals this was done by their families
and friends. In the case of the prisons with the political prisoners
this was done by the Islamists. Bulldozers were used in those attacks
and the weapons available from the looting of police stations were
available. Nearly all the prisons fell. The prison forces simply could
not deal with such an onslaught and no reinforcements were available.
Nearly every terrorist held in the Egyptian prisons from those that
bombed the Alexandria Church less than a month ago to the Murderer of
Anwar El Sadat was freed, the later reportedly being arrested again
tonight.

On the streets of Cairo it was the scene of a jungle. With no law
enforcement in town and the army at a loss at how to deal with it, it
was the golden opportunity for everyone. In a city that is surrounded
with slums, thousands of thieves fell on their neighboring richer
districts. People were robbed in broad daylight, houses were invaded,
and stores looted and burned. Egypt had suddenly fallen back to the
State of Nature. Panicking, people started grabbing whatever weapon they
could find and forming groups to protect their houses. As the day
progressed the street defense committees became more organized. Every
building had its men standing in front of it with everything they could
find from personal guns, knives to sticks. Women started preparing
Molotov bombs using alcohol bottles. Street committees started
coordinating themselves. Every major crossroad had now groups of
citizens stopping all passing cars checking their ID cards and searching
the cars for weapons. Machine guns were in high demand and were sold in
the streets."

Regards,
Marc

Reply: retreat in Canada

I feel your pain.
I'm Canadian and I too have left the city and moved over an hour away from the nearest metropolis. Fuel prices are a growing concern. Many of the locals are very nosy, and break ins are on the rise. I was fortunate to land next to some very nice people and my neighbours so far are simply awesome. Because of one particular neighbour who is now a good friend, I have met some of the better people that inhabit this area. Farmers and tradesmen and such. It only takes one good person. Your best bet for security in the country is a dog. A big, mean looking dog that barks at everyone. 95% of the time thieves will go elsewhere because of a dog. Get some signs and out them up, warning of the dog. Alarm system signs are a help as well. Those three things together are enough to deter most thieves and criminals. Country criminals are mostly looking for cash, tools, equipment and booze. A lot of them are kids. Burglar bars will look out of place on a country home in Canada and will scream "weirdo" or " I have valuable items in here." If you feel the need to protect your windows get shutters instead. Its a better look, and will offer protection against bad weather and glass breakage. If you go this route reinforce the doors as well. Don't forget the dog. Being isolated, a determined burglar will just cut through anything you have because do one can see or hear him. The dog CAN bite him.

Dogs are a great early warning system too. I would not talk about your ideals to locals. It will mark you as a weirdo and also may give them the idea you will have food and supplies when something finally does go down. You don't want to have to fight them off. Pistols in Canada are easy to get. Go take the Restricted Firearms course (about $50), make the application ($60) and as long as you pass the background check you are good to go. You'll need a range membership for "authorization to transport" which includes bringing one home. Its a bit of a PITA but worth it. Join a range that offers IPSC or IDPA which is combat style pistol shooting. It is a great load of fun and excellent practice. All is not lost. You've made a good decision but the adjustment period is rough.
Good luck
By StealthFarmer on Retreat in Canada at 8:32 AM
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Retreat in Canada

Hi Ferfal,
Been reading your blog for the last week or so, and ordered your book. Just wanted to say thanks for the great info, and a much needed adjustment in my take on things.

We moved to 'the bush' four years ago from a city near Toronto Canada, to 32 acres and a small house that needed much work. We wanted to be mortgage free, near clean water, ect. I've built a 30x12 greenhouse attached to the house, and it heats the place nicely in spring and fall. We keep a dozen chickens, and give eggs to a few select friends. The nearest towns are 40mins drive in either direction. Peak oil/economic turmoil, was the fear that sparked such a radical change in lifestyle.

You are absolutely right about the difficulties of living so far from cities that offer work. We've watched fuel prices climb nervously since moving here. Many of the local people leave much to be desired, alcoholism, drug abuse, and general laziness are rampant among many of the people my age. Scammers and liars scraping by mostly. I'm 40. Those that aren't relying on government assistance to survive, are generally on the religious side. Everyone knows your business, and general affluence.. and many times I've felt as though we were being cased when new people came to visit.

In the city, as a younger man I was very anti gun. I now own a .22lr semi, 12ga pump, and 30-06 bolt action hunting rifle. I absolutely love the shooting sports, and wish laws in Canada made it easier to get involved with pistol shooting. I also enjoy the compound bow very much. Unfortunately the locals know I own weapons as its hard to hide the sound, even in a rural area known for hunting. Although you can't beat having your shooting range right outside your back door.

We heat with wood, and one year I even split all of our wood by hand. Even with a power splitter, going through a tandem load of logs is very hard work indeed. Add the danger of dropping your own trees in the bush alone, and it quickly becomes a gut check moment more often than I care to recall. However, I've not found a better form of exercise than getting good with an axe.

I love your info about being a gray man, and must admit that is my greatest failure. I tend to wear my heart on my sleeve and wish to tell people just how bad the future might be. I just can't believe so many don't see it, and just don't want to hear. I must learn to emulate someone more like yourself.

I've been considering your info regarding security, and wonder how the people who install the shatter proofing films, window bars, and security lighting, fare as a business? Locksmiths? There are many high value cottages near us, that I know are already big targets to thieves as we hear all the time of break ins. As more of them get fed up, I wonder if someone who provides these basic security services, as opposed to the big companies who have monitored intrusion systems.. would be able to make some extra cash.

sorry so long, but I could talk your ear off I’m sure...
again thanks for the great info, and I wish you and yours all the best.
Rich

Hi Rich, thanks for your email and sorry for the delay in replying. I’m blessed to do what I like for a living but it also means that between research, book writing, blogging, setting up the new website where I’ll be moving the blog, learning wordpress, answering email, training, like minded buddies that want to go shooting, and a hundred other things time seems to vanish in thin air.
You’ve noticed the fuel problem. That gets more complicated when fuel prices keep going up. In the long run somewhat effective public transportation will be in high demand. Being closer to the city saves on gas, maybe you can just take the bike to work if the distance is short enough and that saves lots of money. Yet again, another reason why people tend to move towards the cities during complicated times rather than move out.
About sharing your beliefs with others, telling people about the bad times to come will often raise an eyebrow or two. Besides, its not good for you either. While tougher times will probably come in the future in general, that doesn’t mean that it will be your personal situation. You´re living in a place you like, you´re doing things your way in what I bet is a beautiful place, but if you tell yourself the future will be worse that exactly how you´ll perceive it even if objectively speaking yours is a position most would envy.
Indeed there’s a market there and I’m sure you’d do nicely if you offer a good service and know how to sell it. People here often go straight for burglar bars. With higher end homes they prefer to pay for esthetically nicer bars that fit the houses’s design, either more modern lines or classic, people appreciate when the burglar bars don´t ruin the looks of their house.
Some are even disguised as shades of some sort, the wide side is placed vertically, stops some of the sun and at the same time the visible area of the bar itself is smaller, the wider side of the rectangle cross section being placed vertically. You should look around and ask to see if people are interested in films. A simple demonstration of how well it works would help convince a few people. Maybe burglar bars are a bit of a taboo and they´d feel more comfortable with film. Definitely something to look into to make some money.
Take care and thanks for your email.

FerFAL

Surviving in Egypt

Anonymous said...
Hey Ferfal, considering the current and coming shitestorms in the middle east. Perhaps a good idea would be to get your book translated into Arabic, I'm sure you have readers who would be willing to do it for free. Egypt pretty much has shutdown and people are hurting. And there will be a great demand for the type of information you provide in your book in the middle east.

February 3, 2011 7:05 AM

Yes, talk about things going to hell fast. In countries where there´s a population very mad at their president and the corruption reaches insulting levels these things happen.
Its the same old story and not that different from our own: They are fed up and want the guy to leave, and the rioting and civil unrest makes this all abundantly clear. Notice two things right away:

1) No president, no government of any kid can «win» against an infuriated population. Remember this next time someone says things such as “Oh, but what can people do against armies, aircrafts, infantry and artillery?” Its actually the other way around. You can´t win a war against your own population guys. That´s on of the best kept secrets by those in power.

2) They just want Mubarak to leave. This is typical textbook scenario. We took the streets so as to kick President De la Rua out, feed up of every one of them politicians with the famous «Que se vayan todos» (Kick them all out).

In survival terms, the basics any recurrent reader of this blog knows by heart by now. Have supplies, have water, weapons so as to defend yourself. Have a defendable position, upgrade your home´s security. (videos on this coming soon) During Argentina 2001 some phone lines collapsed due to the amount of talking going on, people here used email and text messages to organize different demonstrations and protests in their neighborhoods. In Egypt they went a far as blocking the internet. Even that couldn´t stop the inevitable since they found ways around it using twitter through the ordinary phone. You could still tweet without internet by phonecalls to USA. This of course shows how the dieing giant tries to control things. Keep a radio to know whats going on, even better get a police scanner and UHF/VHF radio to gather information. When you have a police scanner and know some of the frequencies used by cops, civil defense, firemen, or emergency response you get a much better idea of whats happening out there.

USA Next?

No, at least not right away. But notice the things that cause people to just be fed up.

 “The country has gone to ruin,” Abdelaziz said. “Everything is expensive. How will my son marry, get an education, set up a household? There are no jobs, only for a select few. We have no hope.”

http://www.examiner.com/unemployment-in-san-diego/civil-unrest-riots-egypt-99ers-is-usa-next#ixzz3qF06c9pu

That´s it right there, folks. People that are used to being poor for generations may take longer to react. But ever rising Inflation? That´s what destroys a social class that once knew better. That´s what causes a country to explode like a powder keg. Happened in Argentina, happened in Egypt, will keep happening in other places. Know these things so you´re not caught entirely by surprise. As inflation an unemployment grow and at some point get out of control, that´s when all hell breaks loose.

 Going out during the eruption stages of civil unrest is not the smartest thing to do. Stay put until things calm down. DONT GO OUT. This may sound obvious but those of us that saw these kind of demonstrations in our country have experienced something some of you may not: You WANT to go out there and peacefully demonstrate how fed up you are, you want that guy to flee like a dirty rat, bad. This is where the survival mindset should kick in. Even though you want to be part of the historic moment and participate with those that get rid of the tyrant, its just not safe and the person with a family to provide for should remember his responsibilities.

And then... what?

This is what people in Egypt don´t know and may cause their utter ruin. What happens after you get what you want. The guy leaves and then...
These revolts are ideal territory for authoritarians to take control. May they be a local warlord, and extreme leftist or right(depending on the extreme of the one that got kicked out) charismatic figure may be voted into power with great popular support. They thrive and spread in these environments like bacteria in an infected wound.
In my opinion, the best possible outcome is not to have the guy escape like a rat through a tunnel or chopper like in our case. The best outcome is to leave him no other option but to call for elections within 6 months. Time enough for listening to serious propositions, not enough time for people to calm down and allow the rat to stay in place. This way the deomcratic process continues and isn’t interrupted. Believe me you don’t want that, no matter how much of a scumbag the president may be. You don’t want that because the one that gets hurt the most is the country´s image to the rest of the world. It takes decades to heal the damage the representative process suffers.
Much better to VOTE the rat out of power than kicking him out with rioting and pitch fork and flaming torch wielding masses. After that, the best person to plaice in office is a smart, conservative person, not too much to the right, not too much left leaning either. In times like these moderation is your best friend for a quick recovery, and charisma, smiles, good looks but no ideas and empty speeches are your worst enemy.

FerFAL

Detroit Police PD Gunfight

Hey Ferfal, 

Here is a video of the attack on a Detroit Police PD.

I dont know if you have seen it yet.

http://www.clickondetroit.com/video/26654757/index.html

 

 

Eddy

 

Hi Eddy, several good things to learn from this video ( in spite of it being a horrifc attack on police officers by a mad man) As always this is done to understand how shootings develope and point out a few things.

 

The men here did as well as they could given the surprise attack. They are well trained and did lots of things right.

1)      Go for cover. If this had been a rifle such as an AK, simply shooting through the bench would have killed the officers. In general, a desk is just concealment, not cover, but at the time it’s the only thing they had. For a shotgun shot though, other than the unlikely event of the bad guy using slugs, the desk at that angle will make ok cover. 

2)      Body armor saves lives. This video proves it yet again. If you have your gun, a good flashlight, body armor should be next in your list. I constantly get emails of people that bought armor because of my recommendations, couldn’t be happier about that. If you have a couple extra seconds during an attack or home invasion, spend them getting your armor on. 

3)      Notice the need to shoot repeatedly. The handgun is a poor stopper compared to rifles, and you must fully expect to keep shooting until the bad guy goes down. You don’t just shoot with a handgun, you start shooting, quickly pump as many rounds into your attacker as possible. 

4)      Commander Brian Davis executes a perfect single handed shooting technique while  moving backwards. Sometimes you see this while moving diagonally backwards as well. Diagonal backwards movement is usually better because it creates more distance, at the same time it requires horizontal realignment and you are less likely to get hit than moving straight backwards. What he did here is exactly what you train to do in shooting training. He clearly fell back to his training during this fight and that saved his life. It would have been even better if he had moved diagonally to that low door behind the counter where one of the first cops escpaed through. Seems that it would have been a better place to retreat to rather than get cornered. At least that’s what it seems based on the little information provided by this clip regarding the floor plan. Basically, when moving make sure you’re not cornering yourself in a dead end. 

5)      Notice the canted angle in his single hand shooting stance. Straight out of a textbook. This reduces the area available to shoot and also somewhat protects the center of mass area where your heart is. Better to catch a shotgun blast in your side in the ribs or shoulder than getting shot in the heart, right?

6)      Commander Davis gets shot in the hand. What would he have done folks if the fight continued? That’s right ladies and gentlemen, he would have shot with his other hand, as trained. This is why you must learn how to shoot, reload and load a round into the chamber single handedly with both hands. Not easy, but not training it doesn’t make it any easier.Notice: You need square rear sights  to make tihs operation easer. Some of those melted things may look cool and aerodinamic, but you dont want that when performing  single handed reloading techniques. 

 

7)      Throwing the trashcan. Even if its just a distraction throwing a cup, paperweight, keyboard or whatever it is you have may buy you a precious second or two. Heck, you might be lucky and hit him in the face causing some damage or buying even more time. This works within a context, the context in this case being a gunfight. Throwing your keys or dropping the wallet may get you that extra second you need to draw your gun.

 Please don’t follow stupid suggestions such as throwing stuff at an armed robber when your are unarmed and kept at gunpoint. You’ll just get shot.  Its just a distraction, and achieves nothing unless its part of a better plan. 

8)      Suppressive fire with a pistol. So much for all that one shot one kill BS. Leave that to snipers. Where was Commander Davis and partner shooting those first shots to? The general direction. The other cop just puts the gun over the desk and shoots a bunch of rounds. The only shots that count are hits ? Well no, if the shots are giving the bad guy something to think about, they are getting the job done too. If the bad guy isn’t an insane freak like in this case, a likely outcome would have been to run away after the failed attack when he sees the officers shooting in his direction. Suppressive fire buys you time, gives the bad guy things to think about (like oh, I just might get shot) It turns the tide to your favor in a way and may avoid the bad guy rushing in. In this case it didn’t work very well, again dealing with an insane man here, but it was worth a shot and I’m sure it bought them some time none the less.

9)      Between the suppress rounds fired and the amount of shots needed to stop this mad man, a lone attacker!, how would you feel having just 6 or 7 shots instead o 16 or more?

Take care folks.

FerFAL