Fact vs. BS - Part 6

Welcome to the no BS zone of Teddy Jacobson


www.truthaboutparts.blogspot.com


LETTER - MUST READ AT THE VERY BOTTOM


LETTER FROM ARGENTINA- PART V - BELOW

PLEASE NOTE: I WILL NOT BE TAKING IN ANY TRIGGER WORK ON A BERETTA MODEL 87 AT THIS POINT IN TIME. I REALIZE THERE IS AN ARTICLE IN THE NOV. 2005 ISSUE OF GUNS MAGAZINE WRITTEN BY MASAAD AYOOB ABOUT THIS 87 THAT I DID MANY YEARS AGO. I WILL ONLY TAKE IN LIMITED TRIGGER WORK ON STREET GUNS ONLY AND YOU MUST CALL ME FIRST. I GIVE NO DISCOUNTS TO ANYONE REGARDLESS OF WHAT YOUR NAME IS AND OR WHAT YOUR STATUS IS IN THIS LIFE. MY WORK IS VERY MUCH IN DEMAND BUT I JUST DO VERY LIMITED WORK THAT HAS NEVER BEEN WORKED ON BY SOME ONE ELSE. YOU CAN CALL ME ON MY LAND LINE AT 281 565 6977 MOST ANY DAY AT 10am CENTRAL TIME. I WILL DISCUSS YOUR HANDGUN WITH YOU ANYTIME AND OR ADVISE YOU WHAT TO PURCHASE, I DO THIS AS A COURTESY TO HELP THE HONEST GUN OWNER..........TJ

DISCLAIMER: THIS COMMENTARY AS WELL AS ALL MY PREVIOUS COMMENTARIES ARE MY PERSONAL OPINION AND MY PERSONAL VIEWPOINT. WHEN I QUOTE SOME ONE IT IS COPIED AND PASTED FROM A PUBLIC DOMAIN OF ONE KIND OR ANOTHER. I DO PAY FOR SOME DETAILED INTELLIGENCE REPORTS THAT I SHARE WITH YOU. IF YOU CAN NOT DEAL WITH REALITY, PLEASE LEAVE NOW.


Fact vs. BS - Part 6

Made in USA ???

What do we buy or own that is made in the US ??
We are never being told the truth, with this global economy that was forced upon us we are in very serious trouble. Just thinking about General Motors closing 9 plants has convinced me we are on a run a way train that is out of control. Who will make our Tanks and necessary armament for our military if all these big companies are forced to down size in order to reorganize to survive in this Global BS.

There are approx. 160 countries in this world and I am of the opinion that about 115 plus or minus people run this world.......period. I do not care what you want to call them whether its the Illuminati or whatever it does not matter one bit. Our handguns are stamped with American Company names but I have no idea where most of them are really made. I have no first hand knowledge where the parts are coming from. No one will ever tell you, its top secret as far I am concerned. I can not think of any major company president or CEO of a very large company that has ever played it straight with you or me, its all BS that they feed us.

Lets look at our handguns. This is a partial list...

Springfield Armory - made in Brazil and Croatia who knows where else.

Glock - made in Austria and who knows where else.

HK - made in Germany and who knows where else.

S&W - Made in Us ??? I would not bet on it.

Colt - made in US ??? I would not bet on it.

Ruger - made in US - probably ??

Taurus - made in Brazil

Bersa - made in Argentina

NAA - made in US - Provo, Utah ( Kahr makes frames for Guardian and Taurus makes slide take down button ?? )

Browning Hi Power - made in Portugal (and Canada) and who knows where else.

CZ Pistols - made in the Czech Republic

FEG pistols - made in Hungary

Llama - made in Spain

Norinco - made in China

Para Ordnance - made in Canada

Sig Sauer - made in Germany and US ??

Beretta - made in Italy and US ??

Kimber - made in US ?? parts from where ??

Walther - made in Germany or US ??

Makarov - made in E. Germany, Russia, Bulgaria, China, etc, etc.

Well I have made my point, I could list many more but there is no point. Buying a 1911 mil-spec made in Brazil by Springfield Armory is a top rated handgun and in some ways much better that buying a frame and side for 500 dollars when the finished mil-spec is $400. new in box. The reason that the SA mil-spec is hard to find is that they are selling them as fast as they ship them to the wholesalers. Thats a fact.

I do not know what we make in this country anymore but we repair copy machines and we have become a serice oriented economy because we have been sold out. I remember when people were on a waiting list to buy an S&W revolver back in the 60's. Americans took pride in their work at one point in time but now there are only a few of us left.

Think your parts are American made that you are buying for your favorite 1911 pistol, I would not bet on it. If you have purchased any 1911 hammer struts lately, you will notice most are identical and you may have bought them from different companies. Its all BS because most people are buying the same parts and putting them in their own packaging. ORIGIN UNKNOWN. I am not talking about the one man operation that is still making his own product that you must wait 6 months to a year to get. Even I have given up trying to buy from people that have a long waiting list, theres not enough time in my life to put up with that BS.

I bought a very well made high dollar assault type bag to be used for my ready to go bag that will hold my emergency supplies. This bag was made by BLACKHAWK INDUSTRIES. I bought two of them, one for me and one for my wife. On one of these high quality bags BLACKHAWK forgot to remove the label that said "MADE IN VIETNAM"....... that says it all, we can thank the globalist that have got what they wanted and that is what will be our ruination.

I have been studying handguns and gun parts for the past 30 years and I have never been so disappointed in all my life as to what I see. My eyes are so critical and I do not miss much of anything. My attention to detail is way beyond most people today.

The parts industry is a multi million dollar business and I know how many parts sold today can be improved. The people that sell these poorly designed parts would have no interest in improving a product because they sell all the garbage they put in their packaging anyway, so why should they even bother. They get in their Lexus and cry all the way to the bank and people like you and me struggle from day to day trying to decide what to buy and which is the lesser of the evils.

Do you want a TITANIUM PART ?? What for ?? what more will it do for you that good steel can not. It will take more "FRANKLINS" out of your pocket but thats about all. Titanium is ok for a camera body and for eye glass frames. You do not need Titanium guide rods or parts, commercial grade titanium, what percentage of titanium is in there, if you find out let me know cause I have never been able to find out, its all BS. Its the marketing genuises that have scamed us for many years. Now this is my personal opinion.

I have at one point in time taken apart most every handgun you can even think of and when I see the same parts in many different brands of 1911 pistols I know the origin of that part is all from the very same place. Many companies that make and or sell handguns create a list called "CRITICAL PARTS" that are not for sale, now if you need one of these critical parts for your handgun they will tell you to return the handgun to the factory as this critical part is not for sale. SO, now you must pay about $48.00 to FED EX or UPS each way and ship your handgun overnight because of a previous administration.

I now can ask you what you will do if we lose critical cities to these Islamic terrorists and there is no more shipping and there is no more factory to install these critical parts for you. You must think ahead and buy products that you can get parts for or another solution is to settle on a handgun model and buy two or three of the same model handgun so you can always canabalize one for parts and keep the other one operational. Do not get lulled into a false sense of security as our problems are first beginning.

WITH OUT AN OPERATIONAL HANDGUN YOU WILL BECOME A VICTIM, AND YOU CAN NOT BLAME ANYONE BUT THE SCHMUCK IN THE MIRROR. JUST ASK THE POOR SOULS THAT SURVIVED KATRINA IN NEW ORLEANS.

I have 3 barrels here that sat in contaminated salt water for three weeks. Fortunately I will be able to save them and restore them to mint condition.

LETTER FROM ARGENTINA - PART V www.survivalblog.com

PART V
Note: Sorry for the delay. This thread started ok and it seems to have a lot of acceptance so I give it serious thought before I post, try not to leave anything out so it can serve the better, as a mini guide of things that may come.

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 sewage 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, specially 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 dive 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” ” [Smile]
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 SHTF.
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 were 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 socioeconomic level, better than 96% of the population at least, yet I cant 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 are which is guarded by private security, after that you are on “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, were 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 SHTF, going out with a date at night wont 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 SHTF 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 wont 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 ga 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 TSHTF. 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 TSHTF.

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.
No point in buying cases of Cuban [cigar]s for trade after TSHTF if you live in Cuba, right?

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 “[duty] 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 drivers license after the XXXX crisis. The problem is that the office is low on personal (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 weights 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 though it made her look like Cindy Crawford (poor Betty) but 20 dollars was more than she could spare in 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 you 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 were 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 BS 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 TSHTF, 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 know 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 where 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 mal nutrition, kids where not receiving the minimum amount of nutrients for a healthy working body.

The braking 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 SHTF 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 points 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 proteins, 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 loose 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. Flower 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 (ñoqui) 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 to 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 senators. It seems that in one of the north provinces people where 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, howled 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 who they want.

HEALTH & FITNESS
Visit you doctor NOW. Get yourself fixed. Visit the dentist and make sure your mouth is in perfect condition. 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 brake and would be nearly impossible to replace after TSHTF)
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 specially 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 compliment 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 faint 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.
Research on the subject and make your own routine, join a gym and talk to a professional if possible.
Whatever you do, the idea is to have a fit, healthy body. No use in shooting 1⁄2 MOA at 100 yards if you have a gut that hangs half way to the floor and you cant 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 three 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, or fighting bare handed against someone that got you by surprise. This applies for life in general, before or after TSHTF 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.

I once had a fight that got a little ugly. It happened in my mother in law’s house, which proves that thing can go bad everywhere at any time. A guy my wife’s sister was dating argued with me and things got physical. He had problems with the police for beating up an ex girlfriend (which he was proud of, go figure) and had spend 2 years in jail for stealing cars. My wife’s sister was showing up with mysterious bruises on her body, from “falling while working out”. So you could say this guy wasn’t my favorite person.

Anyway, he grabbed my neck by surprise, I grabbed his arm with both hands, one in his hand and the other in his elbow, and twisted it around. The leverage made him let go of my neck and a kept on twisting it forcing him around. He punched me with his other hand but the positing wasn’t on his favor so it was just a glancing blow. He pushed with his back against me, so I placed my left arm around hid neck, my elbow flexed over his Adam’s apple. The guy went berserk so I decided that I had to hold on until he passed out, or I would get seriously hurt.

I had practiced this choking move with my friend, the one that has the farm I talked about before. He told me that after 30 seconds of choking the person passes out, and after 60 seconds, if you keep choking him, he dies.

So I placed my left arm firmly around his neck while holding my left hand firmly with my right arm, pressing as hard as I could.
The guy went nuts. He slammed me against the walls, trying to get me away from his back.

He started clawing with his fingers on my biceps, desperate. Me? I just hold my lock around his neck, mentally counting. As if by magic, after 20-25 seconds. He lost all strength and fell to his knees like a rag doll, and I let him go.
Meanwhile my wife, her sister and my mother in law were all screaming me to stop.

Once he caught his breath he said that I was psycho, and that he was just fooling around. Not believing a word he said, I said I was sorry and we both got into the elevator, since we were leaving.
As soon as I close the elevator door, the s*** bag attacks me again. I guess he felt humiliated in front of the woman he beat up. He tried to grab me the same way I did. I knew that this was getting out of hand and I completely lost patience with this clown.

I brought my serrated Cold Steel El Hombre from my pocket and placed the dull side against his arm. He got the message instantly a let go of me. Once he did this I shoved him against the elevator, my forearm pressing against his neck and the knife under the neck as well. He calmed down instantly, saying he was sorry, blah , blah, blah.
When we got out of the elevator I told him that if he ever got close to me or my family again I would put a bullet in his head.
I never saw him again.

This guy was a thief and women beater and I had no use him. Besides these are the kind of rats that would break into your house when you leave, or worse.
I’m ranting all over the place again. What I mean is that practicing defensive moves is useful, specially if you spar with someone that knows his thing. My friend practices Judo. He won the state championship and was left in 3rd place in the nationals final.

Practice as you would fight in real life. Getting choked isn’t nice, but you get to know what you are working with and know how effective it actually is.
Being in shape will also make you less prone to diseases, such as high pressure, heart problems, and will boost your immune system in general.
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 of the stuff.
Medicines are hard to get and expensive, many are made in other countries and if SHTF 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.
- Fernando in Argentina [He posts as "FerFAL" on several U.S. forums]
Fernando added in a later e-mail to JWR:
I’m working on some updates related to “Survival driving”, “Kidnaps” and “The ways people deal ( or don’t) with what happened”.

I have a lot of work right know ( CAD drawing) so I have little time, but I’ll write them as soon as possible.
The recent [Americas] summit went as expected, some rioting and looting, 60 shops burned or destroyed, but we honestly thought that it would be much worse. We expected a terrorist attack. Thank God nothing happened. Unfortunately, the looting, rioting, and destruction of shops and cars we are already used to.

Actually, right know I was writing a letter for a [U.S.] Democrat web site where my post was posted and some didn’t believe it. I’m just trying to get a few persons to “open their eyes.” Here is what I have so far:

I wrote that post. I live in Buenos Aires. I saw that someone think that what I wrote is “survival porn” or some nonsense like that. It’s not “porn” it’s the way I live over here. If you don’t believe me, take a plane to Argentina. There’s only one international airport (Ezeiza). Once you hit the road, you can go either left or right. Left is a little nicer, though you will see the signs of a poor society, or you can wait until night when the streets get full of paper scavengers. Right is where I live.

My neighborhood is nice (compared to the rest of the country), but to get there you’ll have to go through very nasty places.
Before any ignorant fool starts insulting the country where I live in, “rat hole” is one of my favorites, or “all 3rd world countries are the same”, do your homework.

Six years ago, people that lived in this “rat hole” had a standard of living comparable to 1st world countries. All that changed in less than one week in December 2001.
Our middle class was one of the strongest in America (yes, even compared to USA middle class) We would go to USA and buy as much toys, gadgets and designer clothes as we could carry. I know because I did it. USA was CHEAP for us. Now those same people that lived better than USA middle class can barely get enough money to buy food, if lucky.

To those that choose close your eyes: You are imbeciles. And I’m using the correct word moderators. Imbecile comes from Latin im= “unable” becil=ver= Spanish for “see”. You are cant see or don’t want to. A person can have no grater defect than the inability to learn or accept that he/she was wrong.
As my grandmother used to say “Its like throwing rose petals to the pigs”.

To those with an open mind: What I wrote is what happened, some want to see it , some don’t. Don’t believe me, do your homework. 20 minutes of Google search will clear things up for you. Don’t take ANYTHING for granted. Today you are ok, the economy is ok… tomorrow??

You never know what’s waiting for you tomorrow. No one can know that, and when something actually happens and you see that your life has changed forever, you realize how small we actually are compared to the events around us. And then it’s time for the “if only” or “if I knew this was going to happen”.

Don’t be that person. THINK. Enjoy life .Hell, I enjoy life and life in a much insecure and dangerous country. But always understand that tomorrow may be different. You don’t have to be paranoid, just understand that you didn’t sign a contract the day you where born, and you can’t sue God, life, destiny or whatever you believe in when things go the way you never wished or expected.

What do you think? I have no political affiliation, I don’t believe in politicians in general. (Can you blame me? :) in 2002 we had five different presidents in ONE week)
But I thought that maybe it might make the difference for one or two. If only one person wakes up and smells the coffee, then it was worth the try.

Take care, Jim. - Fernando

Iraqi military not ready
Most operations still reliant on U.S. troops

Top level

G2 Headlines
Author: Joseph Farah

© 2005 G2 Bulletin
Publishing date: 24.11.2005 23:18

While the clamor to bring home U.S. troops from Iraq builds stateside, the harsh reality on the ground is that Iraqi troops are still not nearly ready to shoulder the burden of defeating the terrorists, say G2B military and intelligence sources.

But because of concerns the U.S. might make a hasty retreat a la Vietnam, some Iraqi politicians are seeking a course short of all-out victory. As an example, some leading Iraqi politicians, in a meeting arranged by the Arab League in Cairo, said they do not necessarily oppose compromise with "opposition groups." They also called for the U.S. to set a timetable for a U.S. withdrawal. The main burden of fighting insurgents and keeping main transportation arteries open lies with U.S. forces. Meanwhile, many U.S. soldiers are occupied in training and re-training the new Iraqi army.

Some operations, such as the latest one close to the Syrian border, visibly reveal the ratio of U.S. versus Iraqi service men in some battle engagements is about 60 to 40 at the most. Even more so, this assessment does not mean all Iraqis involved in operations are part of the actual attack force. Iraqis have not been seen operating armored units. Although the U.S. has helped Iraq purchase from Hungary a T-72 tank battalion, it is stored in an army depot and not used in military operations, where U.S. M1 Abrams tanks provide the main armor support.

U.S. servicemen have expressed doubts about the real efficiency of the new Iraqi army. Some say most troops lack the will to fight, and, except for some small forces, have rejoined the army for a paycheck and not as a true commitment to the new Iraqi army. President Jalal Talabani is on record suggesting in mid-November a willingness to negotiate with "every Iraqi, even criminals." Obviously Talabani is concerned over possible changes in U.S. policies and has hinted he might be willing to talk to former Baath rulers, some on trial as criminals.

This statement, and others made privately by more than one top politician, is perceived by Iraqi soldiers as an indication today’s enemy could become tomorrow’s ally. Some Iraqi soldiers hide their faces in photos by wearing bandanas or even by turning their head away. This is, some say, a precaution against future accusation of collaborating with the Americans. Rumored suggestions for some sort of a deal with and partial pardon of Saddam Hussein himself have been floating around in Iraqi circles, clearly a sign of near desperation. Talabani’s major concern is that the U.S., faced with an increasingly unpopular conflict, might shorten the stay of U.S. and coalition troops in Iraq.

Joint U.S.-Iraqi military operations to uproot the insurgency are costly and only partially successful. Urban guerrilla fighters and terrorists always have the advantage as the initial instigators of attacks. This is especially so when the opposite side has strict restrictions guiding its battlefield norms. Limiting use of various weapon systems to avoid excessive harm to civilians and restrictions imposed on intelligence extraction during or after operations hamper the military’s capability to subdue the insurgents.

At the same time the military is required to maintain long logistic patrol lines, which are the most dangerous settings U.S. troops have to control. The need to deliver supplies and manpower to distanced outposts exposes the troops to roadside bombs, mines and ambushing insurgents. An examination of U.S. losses in Iraq shows a very high percentage of killed or injured as they patrolled vital arteries or as they were setting up and manning road blocks.

The large American military presence in Iraq is spread extremely thin as the result of imposed tactics to keep the roads open and to shield an unready Iraqi military force. Against the backdrop of the problematic political and military situation in Iraq, where the U.S. sacrifices more than all other of the coalition members combined, there is an urgent need to completely change the rules of the game, some military sources say.

G2B contributor Yoram East

LAW OFFICE OF
CHRISTOPHER J. STARK
1615 S. Ingram Mill Road Telephone No. 417/887-6969
Building F Facsimile No. 417/887-7715
Springfield, MO 65804

November 21, 2005

Via Facsimile to: (814) 539-6229
Representative John Murtha
P.O. Box 780
Johnstown, PA 15907

Representative Murtha:

During the dark days of the American Revolution the Commanding General, George Washington seemed unable to win any victories. There were wholesale desertions, troops were starving, the fledgling government was sporadic with money, food and ammunition in short supply. Out of this darkness emerged a genuine American Hero. This officer brilliantly led his troops in combat and though seriously, and almost mortally wounded, won victory after victory for the desperate and beleaguered American Continental Army.

After helping to turn the tide of war in the favor of the Americans, this officer’s fame grew as did his prestige, but his prowess on the battlefield, his courage under fire and indeed all of his life, is forgotten because of one act. His name is now synonymous with “traitor” in the dictionary. General Benedict Arnold, like you, had a brilliant military career of courage, honor, and sacrifice. Like you, in my opinion, he was a traitor to his country and to his oath as an American soldier. It is indeed fitting that you are member of the same political party as another traitor and seditionist, former Lieutenant John Kerry USN, who betrayed his country, not only on the very floor of the House of Representatives that you now serve, but also, secretly, in the presence of our enemies in Paris, France.

Unlike you, he is a self proclaimed warrior and you earned your decorations, but the pair of you forgot one important thing. The United States of America and indeed the world are at war. We are at war with an implacable enemy. An enemy of racist, bigoted fanatics whose sole goal in life is to destroy the people of the United States of America, their culture and their religion. More American civilians have died on U.S. soil in this war than died in World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, and Dessert Storm put together.

We are at war, Representative Murtha, and your actions and conduct give aid and comfort to our enemies. Just in case you have forgotten the definition of treason and sedition, I have attached Webster’s definition as Tabs A and B to this letter.
A wise man once said, “There are no former Marines, only dead Marines.” He was wrong. You are not a Marine. You have lost the right to use that title. You have dishonored all of those who have fought and died up to the day you stood on the floor of the House of Representatives and demanded that we withdraw immediately. You lied to the press, when you said you did not make that statement. I watched you make that statement. Albeit your Bill, submitted, which I have also read, added a caveat, “as soon as practicable.” That is pure horseshit and you know it. Yes, Representative Murtha, you have given aid and comfort to our enemies in a time of war. You have given them hope, which they have fast been loosing, due to all of the victories and sacrifice by our sons and daughters on the field of battle in Iraq and Afghanistan. You have been honored by our enemies on the front page of Al Jazeera.

No, Representative Murtha, you are no longer a Marine. Your soul is dead. Your honor is dead, and without a soul or honor, you are nothing.

Be advised, my son is a Marine Officer. He has commanded men in battle through two (2) tours and he is due to return to Iraq on a third tour. If he should be harmed in any way as a result of your actions on the floor of the House this week, I will do everything in my power to see to it that you are driven from office and that you are charged and tried for treason and sedition.

The Marine Officer whose message was read on the House Floor by fellow member of Congress, Jean Schmidt, was right. You are a coward. Marines do not cut and run.

Fortunately, your obesity prevents you from wearing your Marine Uniform with even a semblance of pride, but I know your face. If I am in a room when you arrive, you will not enter. If you are in a room, when I arrive, you will leave. It is as simple as that.

OUT.


LTC Christopher J. Stark IN USAR

Teddy