Terrible massacre in Mexico, close to the US border.
A group of Mormons, members of the LeBaron, Miller, and Langford families, were ambushed resulting in 9 dead, 3 women, the rest of them young children. The three women were driving three vehicles when they got attacked. At least one of the vehicles is shown shot full of holes and completely burned. Some reports claim some of the children were burned alive in the vehicles and the women raped. Some 6 children managed to escape, some of them wounded.
This terrible incident should remind everyone of some VERY important lessons:
1) Don’t live in 3rd world hell holes. No offense, but if a country is controlled by drug cartels that’s exactly what it is.
2) You can’t win against overwhelming forces. You simply can’t. No matter how many guys with guns you have, they will eventually get you, or your family.
3) You can’t be on guard 24/7, 365 days a year, every year.
4) If your country TURNS into a 3rd world hell hole, then be honest about it and LEAVE.
5) You cant take back a bullet. Once your wife and children and dead, that can’t be undone.
6) Only in movies and childish fairy tales do a bunch of brave gun nuts living in a homestead beat thousands of cartel foot soldiers.Certainly dont plan on that working when SHTF. It does not.
7) Rambo Last Blood is not a documentary.
FerFAL
This right here is the reason why we left Argentina.
I was just talking with my wife this morning, about how we miss those get togethers with people just showing up, maybe stopping by a bakery before to grab something to have along with tea, coffee or mate. We’d stay chatting all afternoon and then why not, order a few pizzas, have dinner and stay talking with friends some more up to 2 AM. No music, no booze, just talking with friends over coffee or mate. And just as you’re saying good bye to your friends at 2AM someone says “hey, lets do an asado tomorrow” and before you know it next morning you’re driving to someone’s house or place out in the country, starting a fire and preparing an asado…which extends over to 4PM with some more coffee, tea or mate and the cycle repeats itself. That’s basically every weekend. Just hang out with friends and family.
I don’t think you have that anywhere else, that comfortable informality.
But then you have these events that are also a very real part of what life is like over there. You go pick a couple pizzas for dinner with your friends and you may as well get shot.
In this case it was Adrián Albanese, the owner of the pizza shop. 40 year old, shot in the head, leaving behind a wife and 4 month old son that will never know his father, a son they spent years trying to conceive and it finally happened for them. One day he gets robbed in his store. He gives up the money in the cash register, gives them everything, and just because he couldn’t manage to pull out his wedding ring because he was so nervous he gets shot in the head.
Ask yourself:
Will you be carrying concealed?
Are you sure about that little comfortable pocket gun you like so much?
How many rounds do you want to have for dealing with three very violent attackers?
You’re still going to carry with an empty chamber?
Take care folks.
They seem innocent enough, but many of these bumper stickers say way too much about you and your family.
Ohio SAR point out some of the information you are giving away without noticing with these three stickers.
They clearly think about leaving the house alone and home invasions. I can tell you that from my perspective there are other serious crimes you should be careful of as well, in particular fraud and kidnapping. It would be very easy to kidnap Bill for example “Hey Billy. Your mommy, Tammy, she had a car accident and asked me to pick you up. I’m an army pal of you dad, John”. Simple as that. It is very easy to trick through the phone not only children but adults as well if you know some of the first names of the family members. “Hello, I’m calling from XYZ, your husband John contacted us because of the slow wifi problem you’ve been having. I need you to change these numbers from your end so as to optimize your connection”.
The stick family decals along with the rest of the stickers, the way you dress and the car you drive, give any bystander with a good eye a pretty accurate idea of your socioeconomic background. I know of several people that have been kidnaped alone by the car they were driving and even the clothes they were wearing.
A private school sticker? That’s anywhere from $10,000 -$20,000 bucks tuition or more depending on your State, therefore that’s probably how much disposable income you can expect to come up with if they grab your son. You don’t have the money you say? OK pal, you’ve got an hour to sell that fancy new BMW of yours then or we kill the kid.
Huh... so you own a lot of guns then?
The typical gun decal in your car is a dead giveaway too. NRA stickers, Colt, Glock, etc, they all scream gun person. It would be logical for a criminal to check out a busy parking lot for such stickers and break into the car to see if he can get himself a nice new gun. I know of a member at Glocktalk forum that had his Glock 17 stolen from his vehicle. Cops told him that he might want to remove his NRA sticker from his car.
Any organized gang looking to procure some hardware simply has to follow you home and either force you into your house at gunpoint or wait until you all leave to break in. If they see some good security around the house maybe just wait until mom gets back home with the kids from school while you’re at the office.
Rental car Stickers and Barcodes.
Another problematic sticker. Maybe you didn’t even notice that your rental has a company sticker somewhere but criminals sure do. A rental car means business travel or tourist. Its worth breaking into and maybe stealing a suitcase with electronics, cash or jewellery.
While driving his car into the garage, his young daughter in the car with him, this off duty cop gets jumped by three armed attackers. They had two 38 revolvers and a 9mm pistol. The cop was also armed with a 9mm.
In spite of being outnumbered and at very close distance the cop waits for his opportunity, fights with the closest attacker grabbing his gun while drawing and shooting with his own firearm.
He manages to kill two and leaves the 3rd attacker in critical condition.
As you see folks, sometimes it’s 3 vs 1 (or more), and they have the drop on you but nerves of steel and resolve means you still have a chance to win.
Barracas, where an 88 year old woman was beatent to death.
I pride myself in having a different take on survival and preparedness in this website. Here we go beyond the best gun, the bets knife and the best whatever (even if we do that too) but we go beyond into the finer details of how disasters and SHTF events go down.
In this case yet again Argentina is a source of valuable information, like a lab rat of what happens when societies go to hell. Unfortunately for the people living there, it’s as if there’s a crisis every 5 years and a collapse every decade or so.
I recently wrote about yet another financial crisis taking place in Argentina. The currency devaluated sharply after investors fled en masse and panic spread across the society. There were rumours of “another 2001”, when banks closed the doors, froze accounts and stole people’s money. Truth is that this time the situation is pretty different and objectively speaking the conditions aren’t there to expect a bank run and liquidity problem. Still, people remember and they feared another “corralito”. Of course the opposition, led by the leftists Kirchnerists that used to be in office do their best to spread these rumors and fuel panic as much as possible.
Because of this a lot of people closed their bank accounts and took their money home. What happened then?
Crime and robberies. A lot of them. In recent days there’s been a clear spike, fueled by this opportunity for criminals to get that cash no longer kept in banks.
There was a woman in Mar del Plata who closed an account and when she left the bank, she got mugged and they took her life savings. Seems it was an insider job by someone in the bank, which is fairly common. Another woman, 88 years old, was beaten to death in Barracas, Buenos Aires. Beatings and torture are fairly common practices so as to make sure the victim gives up any cash they may keep hidden.
So, unfortunately that’s whats going on right now in Argentina. Sad to see how little things have changed and how while history may not be repeating itself this time, it sure does rhyme.
FerFAL
Hi Fernando,
I actively follow your blog, read your first book, and I appreciate your common sense, your opinion very much!
Keep up the good work!
I assume that NI and Belfast where you lived is pretty much different than Ireland, though, you may visited there and had some first hand experience, so I would like to have your thoughts about the recent events.
Thanks!
Cheers,
Gábor
….
Thanks Gábor.
They call that looting? Amateurs… (just kidding) I guess it goes to show that these things can happen anywhere, which is what I’ve been saying for years.
Ireland and Northern Ireland isn’t all that different actually. I mean you could easily drive across the border and not notice it until you saw the signs in Irish language, and the speed limit in km rather than miles. In fact violence, protests and civil unrest are far more common in Northern Ireland than in Ireland.
It seems they took advantage of the storm, got hold of a digger to smash the store’s wall and roof and got to do a bit of looting. Shocking pictures show aftermath after 'snow looters raid Lidl' in Jobstown, Tallaght, Dublin
The difference between this incident and Argentina though is that this isn’t by any means common occurrence in Ireland and the perpetrators have been already identified and arrested.
That’s the thing about Argentina. Seems that no one goes to jail, ever. For looting, stealing? Heck no. Even for murder you get released with barely a slap on the wrist, if that.
Ireland is beautiful and safe in spite of this incident. The north is a bit more sad and it has the Troubles history which weighs heavily there. You don’t get that in the rest of Ireland, feels more cheerful. The weather though, that sucks no matter where you go.
It was a great experience though, very fond memories.
Message:
I saw these videos on South African crime on Lauren Southerns YouTube
channel and remembered that you did some post about this very thing. I
placed a your link in her comment section and thought you may want to
see the documentary she is doing on South African crime. I have been
watching her content for a while now. She has good content and a good
head on her shoulders, like yourself. It is tragic that this is not
reported in international news more. Thanks for all your good work,
-P
Thank P, those are worth watching.
It actually remind me of Argentina a lot. Driving by and seeing all
houses with reinforced doors + bars on every single window and gates all
over the place. Many have electrified fences as well. On poor
neighbourhoods you see barb wire, broken bottles on the top of walls.
Gated communities with heavy private security, neighbours hiring their
own security, or in some cases organizing themselves.
These are the solutions people just try to come up with when the
government fails and people have to fend for themselves. Out in the
country its hardly better with people getting killed like we see in
those clips.
I had the pleasure of meeting some young South African expats many years
ago. They were young people like myself back then and they were simply
fed up and looking to leave SA. They didn’t want to live their lives
like that and I can fully understand that.
Finally, something interesting said in one of the videos, about your
life being spent “indoors” when crime is that bad. Again, reminds me of
Argentina. You rush from one house to another, or to a mall or gated
community with security, always worrying about being safe. You’re
living in South Africa (or South America) but the time you spend doing
outdoors stuff is seriously restricted by how dangerous it is.
Long story short, the link above is about a guy’s experience during the Rodney King Riots of 1992 in LA. The author called Robert, wife Karen and their children are in a theater in a Hollywood premiere when the riots start outside on the street on April 29. The security guard in the theater locks the doors, kills the lights so that rioters cant see inside an eventually Robert, Karen and the kids go to the underground parking, get in their car and drive home.
In a nutshell, that’s the story.
As for lessons learned, first we must understand we’re talking about a self-confessed “Hollywood liberal” movie screenwriter and the entire story reeks of such mentality, very different from a prepper or survivalist.
His wife clearly wears the pants and Robert sounds like the typical liberal beta male. His wife is the hero of the story at one point because she’s the one with a flashlight in her purse…
When rioters start throwing stones at the building, his wife Karen doesn’t even flinch. Robert believes his wife’s face has the determined expression of a “seventeenth-century general” with nerves of steel. In reality what he’s describing is anything but and is in fact resignation and being frozen by fear. This is not to be confused with determination, but it’s a very typical reaction among those that aren’t prepared and simply “cant believe this is happening”. Its basically good old denial.
Lessons learned? Well, getting caught in Sunset Boulevard the day of the verdict would be a big one. You need to be aware of the world around you, of what’s going through those “inner city youths” mind. If they had done that they would have realized that specific day could get complicated fast and they would have let this socializing event pass.
Of course not even having a flashlight (or a CCW which the author later regrets) that’s another big fail. You need to have a few basic EDC tools with you and a flashlight is one you should never be without.
Now maybe the biggest questions is, should they have bugged in and waited inside the theatre or did they do well in going to the parking, getting into their car and escaping while they could?
In general, the standard reply for the best course of action when there’s civil unrest is bugging in and sheltering in place. Now that is particularly good advice when you have a known, secured location such as your home. A more exposed place like a theatre were rioters can break in any moment may be a different story.
Personally, if I have the chance and I see I have the room to do so, I would get into my vehicle and evacuate unless I gather more intel about the situation that convinces me otherwise.
These people, they easily could have been cornered, make a wrong turn and get pulled out of their vehicle and beaten to death.
In a defendable home, armed, then experience tells us that you are far more exposed and likely to get pulled out of your vehicle and attacked if leave the shelter.
As for driving during riots and civil unrest. It’s a bad idea to speed and just crash against anyone standing in front of you. I’ve honestly been caught in more riots, crowds and protests than I could possible remember. For years after 2001 it was practically a weekly occurrence for me, maybe even more often than that at times. What I can tell you is that you don’t want to floor the gas pedal, you want to move slowly but surely. Don’t stop, keep moving at slow speed pushing people out of the way and letting those that can, move out of the way themselves. Make no eye contact, stay calm and under no circumstances get off the vehicle, even if people start hitting your car.
This is an interview with Joe Wolek, the American stabbed during a robbery in La Boca, Buenos Aires. The man got stabbed ten times, twice in the heart, but miraculously survived. (mostly thanks to the surgeon also being interviewed who he later befriend)
The interview starts at about 32:10. The TV show is in Spanish but Joe speaks in English and the questions are translated if anyone wants to check it out.
1)Wrong time
Joe says: “I was there in the early morning to avoid the crowds that happen in places that are for tourists”
When you avoid crowds in dagenrous places you are therefore left alone in those dangerous places. Bad idea.
2)Wrong place
Joe says “I was walking along the train tracks, photographing the various graffiti.”
La Boca is already a high crime area. The train tracks is probably the worst place you could think of.
3) Joe says he started feeling “punches” in his chest, he thought he was being punched. He says “ I didn’t feel the knife until I looked down and saw the blood. “
Punches often get confused with getting stabbed. With smaller blades and especially with poor light (night) this happens often. Many survivors mention this exact same thing, confusing stabs with punches and not realizing there’s a blade used in the attack.
4) Nothing is worth getting stabbed over. Or getting shot. When caught off guard, let go of your stuff. Joe says “When I saw I was being stabbed I let go of the camera. I was holding on.”
5)Never chase after to attackers that just stabbed you through the heart.
Joe started running in the same direction the attackers went. This is again, a very common reaction, to chase after who attacked you or stole your property. Again, not worth it. It is common for criminals to stop and shoot your way if you follow them.
6)Not much blood was showing. Although Joe saw blood, bystanders he tried to ask for help didn’t realize how badly wounded he was because there wasn’t a lot of blood.
Puncture stab wounds may bleed internally or not bleed much at all, or it may bleed a lot. Its all about what gets cut.
7)Joe was not aware of the specifics of the crime rate in Argentina. He says “I was warned about La Boca. I’ve been to a lot of places in the world, some dangerous places, so I took my chances. “
The specifics matter a LOT. As they say, the devil is in the details. A dangerous “touristy” place like La Boca, it’s one thing when full of people and it’s another when deserted. You may get your bag snatched when there’s a crowd around you, but being there when there’s no one around just isn’t the smart thing to do.
8) Bad advice. Minute 46:53 this woman talked to Joe before the incident and when asked about crime in Argentina, she told Joe that he could get his camera stolen, but nothing would happen to him, that his life wouldn’t be at risk. This is in fact BAD advice. People get killed during crimes DAILY in Buenos Aires so saying it’s just crime like in any big city is in fact incorrect. Important lesson right there: know your sources, know who you’re getting your advice from. An airhead model/tv presenter may not be the best person to consult about crime and security.
9)Joe does say that after his attack he is more aware of people walking behind him a bit more and lets tem pass, what we would call watching your six.
10) Besides the obvious, avoiding dangerous countries and dangerous places, my advice for anyone traveling to areas where crime is a serious problem is to prepare accordingly. Avoid when possible, but if that’s not an option get an actual guide, either individual or along with a group. Its money well spent. Keep your plane ticket, passport and cash in a travel money belt,well hidden under your clothes.
Is La Boca the same barrio where that one tourist with a GoPro got mugged while he kept saying “amigo?”-Joe
I think it was. Either way Buenos Aires and pretty much Argentina in general, it’s a dangerous place. What I mean by dangerous is not just “crime like everywhere else”. I’m talking people getting killed daily in the city and violent crime very much out of control. There’s currently problems now with armed left-wing gangs occupying land in Patagonia, a group called RAM. The police seem to be unable to stop them and it says a lot about the country when an armed terror organization is free to operate in plain view, yet the police does nothing.
“When travelling always dress way down the fashion ladder. Always use cheap baggage. Always wear layered clothing with fake stuff in the outer layer and real stuff closer to the body. A money belt with a few Benjamins in it is also good. Plus a photocopy of ones passport. “ -A
American tourist Frank Joe Wolek (54) was stabbed 10 times this morning in La Boca, Buenos Aires.
He was attacked by 2 criminals while taking photographs. The camera was dropped and left in the crime scene. I can only assume the intention was to rob the camera. This would be very typical for the area, popular with both tourists and criminals preying on them. If the victim resisted and refused to give up the camera I can see how he could easily get stabbed over it. A plain clothes police officer in the area confronted the criminals shooting one in the chest while the other managed to escape.
Both the victim and wounded criminal are in critical condition.
This is just a reminder for everyone planning on visiting Argentina or other countries with high levels of violent crime. People plan their trip to these kind of places and 90% of the time it all works out great. But sometimes it doesn’t.
With places like these you really have to know what you’re getting into. I know my country very well, better than any tourist, and I would never be caught in such an area with an expensive camera or cell phone. Tourists simply don’t know any better.
What’s even worse, they don’t know how to react. When unarmed and kept at knifepoint or gunpoint by two criminals you just give them the camera. They are not bluffing and its just not worth getting stabbed or shot over.
It is a rather natural reaction to fight back when people are getting mugged. You see it with women holding on to their purses as they get dragged by snatchers on motorcycles.
Lessons learned:
*If you’re planning on fighting, then do it right. Be armed and keep a constant state of awareness. Chances are doing it will dissuade a good number of potential attackers.
*Now if you’re caught off guard in some 3rd world country then your camera or wallet just isnt worth getting killed over. Give it up and carry on with your life.
*When going to countries that aren't that safe, plan accordingly. Don't take anything too fancy, especially cameras. Don't try to be like the locals, just stick with your group and your guide when wandering around.
FerFAL
Police
in Brazil have gone on strike, leaving the country unarmed and left in a
"Purge" like chaos. In 30 cities across Brazil, militarized police are
refusing to do their jobs. According to an anonymous source in the city
of Espirato Santo, Brazil, the chaos can be comparable to the 2014
thriller "Purge", with people running rampant with guns and machetes,
stealing from malls, and even dead bodies lying in the streets. As buses
are set ablaze on night streets, and people crawl for shelter covered
in blood, Brazil is slowly becoming overtaken by it's people.
"A
pm is on strike and the thugs are randomly shooting at anyone who passes
the street in Espírito Santo, my God what is happening" says one
Brazilian resident.
...
"I won't even leave my house today," one Brazilian resident in Espirito Santo told Political Outsource.
"things are absolutely crazy, there are people running around with guns
in pretty populated areas, dozens of people stealing sh-t from malls,
even dead bodies on the streets!"
In another interview with Political Outsource,
one resident in Espirito Santo said in a phone interview; "It'a f--king
mess what's going on here. The worst part is the regular citizen can't
have a gun to defend himself!"
This same thing
happened in Argentina a couple years ago and left many dead behind. Now
its happening in Brazil with similar consequences.
Lesson Learned
I: When cops go on strike all hell breaks loose and you better be well
armed in a defendable position. Yes, like in the movie.
Lesson
Learned II: The day cops go on strike is not the time to go buy guns and
ammo, let alone the time to train and learn their proper use.
FerFAL Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse”and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.
Home
security is a top concern. It is today and it sure is after a
socioeconomic breakdown. Maybe one of the weakest point I see on nearly
all American preppers is home security. Having guns means you have means
of self-defense, it doesn’t mean that your house is more of a hard
target. This article from 12News is well worth the time it takes to read it and has some good first-hand information about how burglars operate.
Here are the top five lessons: 1)Burglars
will look for jewellery, electronics, cash, credit cards and guns. One
burglar said that NRA stickers means there’s guns to be stolen.
Not
mentioned in the article but I know this to be true, many criminals
also look for drugs, legal or otherwise, either for personal consumption
or for selling.
2)All
burglars CHECK IF YOU ARE HOME. They knock on your door and if someone
answers they ask for directions, pretend to be lost or to be looking for
someone else. Some even pretend to be doing surveys.
3)They
prefer breaking in early morning or afternoon when people are working
and kids are in school. Most of them access through UNLOCKED windows and
doors. Some kicking down the door if locked.
4)The
ideal house to break in? They looked for homes with big fences and
overgrown trees or bushes. “Homes AWAY FROM OTHER HOMES, blind spots,
older window frames, cheap wooden doors,” wrote a burglar. “Large trees,
bushes or shrubs around the home, or very reserved and conservative
neighbours,” wrote another inmate.
“Nice home with nice car = A person with money,” another said.
5)How
to make your home a hard target? Keeps doors and windows locked. Large
dogs are one of your best deterrents. Smaller ones don’t seem to do the
trick nearly as well. Install an alarm, most intruders said they would
leave immediately if a security alarm went off.
Most burglars
consider a car parked on the driveway to be a sure-fire sign of someone
being home. TV or radio noise also made them think twice about breaking
in.
“Put bars on your windows and doors, get an alarm, keep an
extra car in the driveway, keep lights, TVs and radios on when you leave
your home,” read one questionnaire.
“Home alarm, know your neighbour so they can report suspicious people around the neighbourhood,” said a burglar.
FerFAL Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.
Home invasion in Moreno, Buneos Aires leaves one dead.
The
typical Argentine nightmare: Mom arrives home and a gang of criminals
force their way in. At least 5 men, wearing body armor labelled “Police”
and armed with SMG, shotguns and .45 pistols. They start beating the
mom and her son, 11 year old Nicolas. The other son, 13 year old Lucas,
is inside the house in one of the bedrooms. He sees that that they start
beating his mom and little brother, asking where the money is. Lucas
gets dad’s 9mm, with a round in the chamber, takes aim from the hallway
and opens fire. Lucas shot one of the criminals twice in the armpit,
killing him instantly. The rest of the gang escapes. One of them opens
fire with a .45, the ricochet of one of the rounds wounding the younger
child in the head but only cuts the scalp, doesn’t go through. Now,
the nightmare of this family just beings. Lucas doesn’t fully understand
what he did, he’s receiving psychological support. The entire family is
scared, worried about payback from the gang. It’s the 3rd time the
family suffers a home invasion. They now have to sell the house and move
to another town, maybe out of the province. FerFAL Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.
Just a few days ago this happened in down town Buenos Aires.
After
attempting to rob a man that had just left the bank with a significant
amount of cash, two criminals take off in a motorcycle as the man draws a
Glock and shoots five or six times, killing an innocent bystander, a
locksmith that was just walking by.
Laws change from one
country to another, even from one state to another. Keeping that in
mind, it is still safe to say that in most jurisdictions its practically
impossible to claim self-defense when shooting someone clearly escaping
from you. Again, different laws, but in general you don’t want to shoot
a bad guy in the back as he moves away from you.
Elemental rule
of firearms safety: Know your backstop. A gunfight is a very dynamic
situation, but still you should maintain a level of self-control and
avoid opening fire in areas full of innocent bystanders in the line of
fire.
This incident happened in the financial district of Buenos
Aires. Notice how just seconds after dropping practically dead everyone
just keeps walking around him as if a dead guy on the sidewalk was the
most normal thing in the world. The normalcy bias is a strong
psychological safety mechanism.
Today there are cameras
everywhere, even without them shootings leave plenty of evidence around,
from ballistics to blood splatter patterns, it is fairly easy to tell
who got shot in what circumstance.
Many of the bystanders
attempted to do the right thing in this type of situation: When you hear
gunfire, take cover! The two on top drop to one knee or lower their
bodies although it would have been much better to go prone, the one on
the right attempts to get behind the wall of a building entrance, but
fails to do so fully which would have been much better. Oh, and one more
thing. It is estimated that half the motorcycles in the down town area
with two people are driven by criminals. There’s even been laws
proposing to ban more than one person in them in the capital.
stick less likely to get stolen
stick can be coasted or bump started if the battery is low
stick doesn't have transmission cooler lines and radiators springing leaks
stick can be shifted with left hand, elbow or partner in the passenger seat
-A
.
OK, before we get started, indeed, stick shift cars are less likely to
get stolen. Some articles online contradict such idea but others support
it. At the end of the day it makes sense that if most people are used to
automatics then manuals may present a problem for most criminals as
well, therefore finding automatics easier to steal for whatever intended
purpose.
And here’s the story. Keep in mind this was many years
ago, let’s say early 90s. I was a little kid yet old enough to remember
and old enough to understand what it meant when my mother came back home
one day saying her car had been stolen while visiting my grandmother.
This was in Argentina, where 99.99% of cars are manual. The thing is, my
mother had learned to drive a few years earlier while living in Boston
where of course cars are mostly automatic. When we moved from USA back
to Argentina my father had to look all over the city until he found one
of the few automatic cars for sale, a Ford Taunus.
That same day we
received a phone call from a police department nearby: The car had been
found. We all left in my father’s car and sure enough my mother’s Taunus
was there. Whoever stole the car only drove a short distance… before
busting the automatic transmission by trying to use it as a manual. Yes,
the thief probably never used an automatic car in his life and managed
to break the transmission.
So long story short the cops found our
Taunus in the middle of the street with a busted transmission. The
cherry on top? We then realized that after having the car removed from
the street the cops had stolen our new tyres and replaced them with
fully worn ones, probably from one of the cops in the station that
needed a new set for his own vehicle.
True story folks.
FerFAL Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse”and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.
Message: http://www.kdrv.com/news/Ashland_Police_Warn_of_Continued_Kidnap_Scam_.html I believe you called this "express kidnapping" in your book, where somebody calls the mark and claims to have a relative of the mark who they kidnapped, and to send money. Keep in mind that this isn't New York or Los Angeles, but sparsely populated south Oregon-Medford is the main city, but it only has around 80,000 people. It looks like you're right yet again. I believe it was Mark Twain who said, history may not repeat itself but it rhymes.
Before Collapse
.. That’s very interesting, thanks for the link. Indeed,
it happens a lot in Argentina. This is what we call “virtual
kidnapping”. Basically “virtual kidnapping” is any kind of scam in which
the victim is made to believe that a loved one has been kidnapped but
no one has been actually taken. It can be anything from random calls to
scams made with knowledge of the supposed kidnap victim being away,
maybe on business, or otherwise. In one case I remember from Argentina,
the “virtual kidnap” was perpetrated because the virtual kidnapper knew
the victim would be away for several hours with his mistress, cell phone
off to avoid being located. That gave the virtual kidnapper a good
window of time to work with and collect the ransom money from this
person’s family. These kind of scams are precisely why it’s so
important in a place like Argentina (and I guess now USA) to have your
cell phone with you at all times so as to quickly contact family
members. “Express kidnap” is different. It involves someone actually
being kidnaped. It’s called “express” because it’s usually a very fast
action, not involving the intel often found in more elaborate, typical
kidnaps. “Express kidnaps” often involve criminals simply driving around
looking for targets that seem wealthy. This may be people wearing
expensive clothes, location (wealthy neighbourhoods) fancy cars or
private school uniforms. At one time several private schools encouraged
students to stop wearing the school uniform because pupils were being
kidnapped because of them. The amount of ransom money asked is usually
far less than a classic kidnap. The idea is to get paid little money but
get paid fast, minimising the chance of getting the police involved. FerFAL Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse”and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.
Hi Fernando,
Our homes are getting broken into more and more. These are homes 1.5
million to 2 million us dollar range. I belong to neighborhood watch and
do a lot of work I find that a certain percent wants NOTHING to do with
it and denies everything Could you consider writing about denial of crime in your blog?
I am amazed as we are having 6 breakins a day in our small neighborhood
and a small percent wants to pretend it's not there like a disney
movie-- I am ok as long as i live in my fantasy movie! Not me! is what they say! thanks Mary
Hello
Mary. Denial is a common and natural reaction to extreme circumstances.
It is often said by survivor that they couldn’t believe it was actually
happening. “It was like being in a movie”, “I couldn’t believe this was
real”, ”I told myself this cant be happening”. These are classic
reactions to overwhelming circumstances. Denial is a powerful defence
mechanism, its the way in which the brain keeps people form going nuts.
It is important to also understand that denial eventually leads to
acceptance. Again, denial is the tool that helps in this transition into
accepting as ordinary what which was previously considered
extraordinary. I’ve seen people deny crime, even if they literally
had a corpse in their sidewalk right in front of them. They would tell a
reporter ”No, but this is actually a safe neighbourhood”, right in
front of their neighbours corpse! No lady, if there’s a dead person less
than six feet away from you your neighbourhood is certainly NOT safe.
Once the stage of denial is passed, what you have is acceptance. “Oh,
but this happens everywhere” is the classic response when asked about
crime to the average person Argentina. That way you come to accept and
be ok with that which you previously believed intolerable. The trick
is staying aware and never losing perspective. My advice would be to
stay busy and on top of the problem. Improve your home and personal
security. Keep working with your neighbourhood watch. Keep talking with
people willing to help, while doing so in a moderate, approachable
manner. Dialogue, discussion and a strong critical approach to the
problem will help towards keeping a healthy perspective.
FerFAL Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse”and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.
I have
enjoyedboth your books. Here is something that goes along with the point
you've made many times - that an isolated location might actually invite
unwanted attention. Also, a bigger dog is a better deterrent.
Adam Deeds
told detectives he used Google Maps to search remote areas around Boise and
Mountain Home for high-end homes to rob. Dees told investigators he decided to
commit a robbery because "that’ll give me money to play with for a while.”
Dees admitted to killing Ted, Elaine and Tom Welp. Dees will spend
the rest of his life behind bars.
…
He told
detectives he staked out the home and came back after dark, dressed in black,
to rob the family.
A door to the
garage was open when he returned and Dees used a set of house keys he found in
a truck to get inside the house. The home's security system was disabled at the
time. The 22-year-old told detectives had it been armed, he would have left
immediately.
He also said
he probably would have given up on his plan if the family had a bigger dog.
I never
understood why so many people fail to see how in spite of other advantages, when
it comes to high levels of dangerous crime, isolation actually works in favour
of the attackers, not the defenders. Rather than worrying about refugees
heading your way (which by the way are mostly NOT criminals) worry about people
like Adam Dees. This is real, it is possible, and as we clearly see it has
happened before. On the other hand the idea of hordes of looters attacking
everything within a full gas tank distance only exists in fiction novels.
What we can learn
from reading the article:
1)Criminals
prefer isolated residences away from curious bystanders and neighbours.
2)Criminals
can drive cars. If you can get to your “isolated” residence by car, then so can
a criminal.
3)Criminals
know how to use Google Maps (and Facebook, so careful what you make public
there as well)
4)Criminals don’t
like alarm, or strong, locked doors.
5)People
living “in the country” are more likely to have a false sense of security,
therefore neglecting some aspects of home and personal security, mistakenly
believing that distance = safety when it comes to dangerous criminals.
6)Criminals don’t
like big, strong dogs that are capable of attacking them.
Guys, unless specifically told not to, I'll post the reply here in the blog so everyone can read it. I'll just leave the first name, and remove the last name, email or any other specific information for privacy reasons. Thanks
Leatherman Charge Ti
Fenix Lights
I love this light. Runs on a single AAA and is capable of big boy lumen output (80 lumens) in a keychain package. Also has low and mid mode for longer runtime.
Fenix PD20
Single CR123 cell. 6 modes including 180 lumen turbo mode.
General Mode: 9 lumens (35hrs) -> 47 lumens (6.5hrs) -> 94 lumens (2.6hrs) -> SOS
Turbo Mode: 180 lumens (1hrs) -> Strobe
15 days of survival use (2 continuous hours per day on the lowest setting)
Thanks for the Positive Reviews!
Energency gadget... on steroids.
Asus Eee 1005HA
Basic Door/Window Alarm
Emergency gadget
Both tool and weapon, just the right size
Straight edge makes it easier to sharpen, + tougher tip
Gorilla Tape
By all accounts and reviews I’ve read so far, it truly is “The toughest Tape on the Planet”
Transportation
I talked about these some time ago in an article, remember someone asked where to get one.
"Alternative Transportation"
Just found one reasonably priced and with excellent reviews in Amazon.
Best Folder
Emergency blankets. I Have several of these around.
Katadyn water filter
for the kits
and food ...
Got to have water: Klean Kanteen Stainless Steel
Moleskine, the ultimate little black cover notebook :)
Fenix L0D-CE. Perfect keychain light. 80 Lumens in a single AAA
Nice combo. The Soldier is an excellent product.
Sabre Red OC spray
Made in USA
This is the brand I use and always have one in my bag and car. ( same brand used by NYPD)
My wife keeps one in her purse too.
Sabre Red Tear Gas
Sabre Red for ladies
You guys have the coolest stuff up there.:)
Jack Bauer’s bag.:) I’d like to get one of these and try it out.
Fox OC Spray
Don’t have this one but it’s the hottest OC spray out there.
Someone once called it “bottled lava”
Pick your poison people, but do carry OC
1) Even if you carry a gun
2) SPECIALLY if you don’t carry a gun
Firesteel
Classic, and one of the few things I’d call a “must have” I own two of these.
My EDC bag: M1936 Musette Bag
Victorinox I bought recently. Most excellent tool, review coming up soon.
Make that "potable" water
And a more pricey alternative by Tikka
Just added one of these to my EDC bag, mostly for smoke, dust and debris
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