Fire Safety

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If you’ve been a reader of this blog for some time now you know that I’m a BIG proponent of learning to identify and use wild edible and medicinal plants found all around you. Here’s just a small listing of the articles I’ve written on the subject:

• How to Eat Cattail
• How to Identify and Eat Garlic Mustard
• How to Eat the Giant Puffball
• 50 Essential Wild Edibles and Medicinals You Must Know

The team over at Fix.com have created a great infographic that I wanted to share with you guys that provides a nice introduction into some common plants you should know that are probably sitting just outside your home right now…

Source: Fix.com Blog

Security overload leads to apathy. How often do you hear a car alarm go off and roll your eyes hoping the owner would disable the blasted thing before the incoming headache comes a knocking? The primary objection I have to such systems is they work too well. Every week I hear an alarm being triggered […]

This is just the start of the post Security Information Overload: From Panic to Apathy & the Remedy. Continue reading and be sure to let us know what you think in the comments!

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Security Information Overload: From Panic to Apathy & the Remedy, written by Thomas Xavier, was created exclusively for readers of the survival blog More Than Just Surviving.

The idea of this hike is the result of a quick look at the map: I have already hiked across Europe from East to West and from North to North, which can be seen as a vertical and horizontal traverse of the continent. So what is next? A diagonal! Ireland to Greece!

I liked the idea immediately because the route crosses two countries I have not hiked in before but always wanted to: Irland and Greece. When I then did some prelimenary research about different route options I came across a trail in Belgium called GR 129 “Belgique en diagonal”. I decided to regard this as a hint of fate and was set on the idea thereafter.

As there are two obstacles in the way – the Alps and some private and professional obligations – I will hike the route in two summer seasons: This year I will start early July in Ireland and hope to get as far as the Alps before snow starts falling and my publishing house is calling me back to my computer.

This year’s route includes the following trails:

• In Ireland I will follow the European long-distance trail E 8. I am really looking forward to this part as I have never been in Ireland before.
• In Great Britain the E8 coincides with the Transpennine Way which is more of a biking and than hiking route. I therefore decided to cross the island a bit further North on Wainwright’s classic Coast-to-Coast. As I have already hiked the length of Britain from John O’Groats to Land’s End I thought that this time an East-West-traverse is enough …
• In Belgium I will follow the GR 129 which is so aptly named “Belgique en diagonal” – another part I am really looking forward to as I have done shorter hikes in Belgium before and really liked this underestimated hiking destination.
• Luxembourg poses a bit of a problem as there is no decent hiking trail in the Southern part of this tiny country but I guess I will somehow work my way across the tiny country on local trails.
• In Germany I wanted to use trails I have not done before – a bit difficult because I have already traversed my home country several times on foot. But I discovered some totally unknown routes like Saar-Mosel-Weg and Saar-Rhein-Weg and a diagonal traverse of the Black Forest on the HW5. From Lake Constance I will either take the popular Maximiliansweg or use some pilgrim routes – depending on how far winter has advanced. 

This first half of the European Diagonal is only 2,500 kilometres, the second half next year will be longer. 

I was just down in the bunker sorting my kit out, for potential self-defense escapades against tyranny, right here in Ole Virginny. I took some photos and thought I would use it as an excuse to talk about gear. Yay!

Anyone that knows me and follows my writings and YouTube Channel, will know that I have expressed a lot of different opinions and options with gear. Essentially, it depends on the situation. While getting this load-out squared away, with the potential to have to defend myself and community against tyranny in Virginia in 2020, I had some specific thoughts in mind. I’ll go through the rationale.

First though: my gear is all multicam, and I am putting this post out on the internet (which is always a mistake). No doubt people will have reason to take issue with that. Go for it. I don’t care. If you have kit in a certain camo pattern, and don’t want to give that overall impression, just break it up with the rest of the stuff that you wear. If you are really upset about it, rattle-can it. Moving on.

Right: Ballistic Plates. I think you would be nuts to go into the sort of situation we may have brewing here, without plates. You need a plate carrier. Ballistic plates only cover a certain area and are not foolproof, but they will seriously reduce the risk of penetrating trauma to the thoracic cavity. Yes, MVT is a dealer for the best plates on the market (ShotStop), and in this plate carrier I have the ShotStop 10×12 SAPI Cut Green Tip Plates. They each weigh 4.6 lb, which is a total weight of 9.2 lb. Worth it. These plates are also thin, and that makes a huge difference compared to some of the Green Tip type plates out there, for overall wearability and comfort. They are out of stock of shooters cut Green Tip till February, but have SAPI cut in stock. Plates HERE.

I think we may be facing a cluster of disorganized combat in urban and semi-urban environments. This will do two things: it will allow you to go relativity light in terms of sustainment gear, thus compensating for the weight of the plates. It will also mean that the more protection you can wear, the better. I have talked before about reasons why you may want to dump the plates, such as heat and operating environment. If this evolves into something more prolonged and rural, over the heat of summer, then you will need more sustainment gear and may want to sideline the plates (until needed).

Above is a front view of my plate carrier. It is a FirstSpear AAC, with the tubes (love those things). I got the option with the 3 mag pouches sewn to the front. I then took 3 x KYWI inserts and put them in the mag pouches, thus giving me kydex mag retention. I have an admin pouch up top above the mags. On bottom, I have a TQ in a little holder that I purchased.

Above is a side view of the PC. I put an additional 2 x mags on the side (under my left arm) in a tactical tailor pouch, which together with the 3 on the front makes 5 mags on the PC. 5 + 2 on the belt + 1 on the rifle= 8 mags. That is first line scales. Who is bringing the resupply?

There is a radio in the little wing pouches which hang off the side of the front plate panel, and sit under the cummerbund. Don’t get excited about the radio: it is simply a knock-off Chinese version of the 152, and works on normal civilian radio frequencies. It is hardened and a good bit of kit, and works will all military ancillaries, hence the love. Currently the antenna is routed to the back of the PC.

You can see the hydration tube coming over from the back. I only have a 1.5 liter hydration bag currently on the back of the PC.

The right side of the rig simply has a GP Pouch attached to the cummerbund. For useful stuff.

Above is a back left view, showing the Tyr Tactical zip-on Huron Assaulter Pack. There are several versions that Tyr Tactical sells, and they sell the zipper kit that will attach to a non-Tyr PC such as this FirstSpear. The compression zip on this bag is currently unzipped, giving more volume to the pack. This pack also comes with a beavertail (removable) which allows you to carry a helmet on the back. Given that if you are wearing this during the day your NODS need to go inside it and you need a way to mount them to your head, which means either carry a helmet or a nightcap. A helmet poking out the back will be a pain in the butt, but then again if it’s a firefight, you may want to put it on your head!

These assaulter packs on the back of a PC are a whole realm of pain-in-the-butt. On the one hand, they are small and thus limit the idea of carrying too much gear. They also don’t have straps, so this reduces the strappage on your shoulders. But you need a buddy to get anything out of them, as you can’t simply swing the pack down to access. You do have a buddy in a firefight, right?

However, wearing any sort of backpack over a PC is annoying, particularly when you have water in a hydration bladder. With an assaulter pack zipped on, it gets into a whole realm of fuckery. Thus, if you are going to wear a backpack, zip off the assaulter pack and put it away, and have a hydration bladder in the backpack itself. I am working with Diz on a solution for a better experience wearing a decent sized backpack over a plate carrier. Hopefully it arrives before the boogaloo!

Remember that the more kit you carry, particularly on top of a PC, will weigh you down and make you a tactical no-go. The Fight Lite concept is that you go as light as is practical to go, so long as you have with you what you need to achieve the mission.

Above: back view of the PC with the Tyr Assaulter Panel.

Above: back right view of the PC, with Tyr panel.

Below is the main photo again, with the items on the battle belt listed.

Let’s hope that getting this kit together is simply a false alarm, and the tyrants in Richmond wind their necks in and crawl back under their rocks. I really don’t want to be forced, with the rest of Virginia, into a fight to defend our Constitutional rights. One thing is certain, and that is that the leftists, and tyranny, never quit.

One thing that has so far gone unstated in this post, so I’ll get a final dig in: to carry this kit, you have to do physical fitness. You have to be in a modicum of decent physical shape. If you can’t breathe, you can’t fight. The 9.2lb for the plates is easily carried if you get in shape. Most people could probably lose that amount of body weight and carry the plates at no cost. The second part of that is training, to build skills, situational awareness, and battle sense. Without both of those, you may be able to look somewhat of the part at an armed rally, but once the rounds start flying, you’ll look like a bag of crap.

We are working hard in Culpeper County, Virginia, to fight back lawfully against proposed treason from the Governor’s office. We have a Culpeper County 2A Facebook page which is doing really well. We succeeded, with the help of a sympathetic Board of Supervisors, to pass a ‘Constitutional County Resolution.’

Sheriff Jenkins, the consummate politician, is getting a lot of positive PR across social media. However, the jury remains out on his true commitment to the 2A. He spoke, and confirmed, at both BOS meetings, and explained that he could not make decisions on what laws may be unconstitutional until they were passed. There is nothing complicated about an infringement to VA and US Constitutional 2A rights. He appears to be hedging. He has said that there is no limit to the number of auxiliary Sheriffs deputies that he could create; a background check and 8 hours per month voluntary service is not your natural 2A right. It is indentured servitude in order to be allowed to carry / own a firearm. We have not written him off, but he needs to confirm his position and stop politicking.

Governor Northam proposes Treason and Violence against the peaceful citizens of Virginia:

It is vital that we are clear on this, and the true legal position. This is a Constitutional Republic and we do not have our natural rights taken from us by the mob. Any law that is repugnant to the Constitution is No Law. To threaten gun confiscation is treason, and an implicit threat of violence against Virginia Citizens.

“Asked whether he (Governor Northam) supports confiscating assault weapons from gun owners, Northam demurred. ‘That’s something I’m working [on] with our secretary of public safety,” he said. “I’ll work with the gun violence activists, and we’ll work [on] that. I don’t have a definitive plan today.’”

Code of Virginia

§ 18.2-46.5. Committing, conspiring and aiding and abetting acts of terrorism prohibited; penalty.

A. Any person who commits or conspires to commit, or aids and abets the commission of an act of terrorism, as defined in § 18.2-46.4, is guilty of a Class 2 felony if the base offense of such act of terrorism may be punished by life imprisonment, or a term of imprisonment of not less than twenty years.

B. Any person who commits, conspires to commit, or aids and abets the commission of an act of terrorism, as defined in § 18.2-46.4, is guilty of a Class 3 felony if the maximum penalty for the base offense of such act of terrorism is a term of imprisonment or incarceration in jail of less than twenty years.

C. Any person who solicits, invites, recruits, encourages, or otherwise causes or attempts to cause another to participate in an act or acts of terrorism, as defined in § 18.2-46.4, is guilty of a Class 4 felony.

D. Any person who knowingly provides any material support (i) to an individual or organization whose primary objective is to commit an act of terrorism and (ii) does so with the intent to further such individual’s or organization’s objective is guilty of a Class 3 felony. If the death of any person results from providing any material support, then the person who provided such material support is guilty of a Class 2 felony.

§ 18.2-46.4. Definitions.

As used in this article, unless the context requires otherwise or it is otherwise provided:

“Act of terrorism” means an act of violence as defined in clause (i) of subdivision A of § 19.2-297.1 or an act that would be an act of violence if committed within the Commonwealth committed within or outside the Commonwealth with the intent to (i) intimidate a civilian population at large or (ii) influence the conduct or activities of a government, including the government of the United States, a state, or a locality, through intimidation.

“Base offense” means an act of violence as defined in clause (i) of subdivision A of § 19.2-297.1 committed with the intent required to commit an act of terrorism.

§ 19.2-297.1. Sentence of person twice previously convicted of certain violent felonies.

A. Any person convicted of two or more separate acts of violence when such offenses were not part of a common act, transaction or scheme, and who has been at liberty as defined in § 53.1-

151 between each conviction, shall, upon conviction of a third or subsequent act of violence, be sentenced to life imprisonment and shall not have all or any portion of the sentence suspended, provided it is admitted, or found by the jury or judge before whom he is tried, that he has been previously convicted of two or more such acts of violence. For the purposes of this section, “act of violence” means (i) any one of the following violations of Chapter 4 (§ 18.2-30 et seq.) of Title 18.2:

a. First and second degree murder and voluntary manslaughter under Article 1 (§ 18.2-30 et seq.);

b. Mob-related felonies under Article 2 (§ 18.2-38 et seq.);

c. Any kidnapping or abduction felony under Article 3 (§ 18.2-47 et seq.);

d. Any malicious felonious assault or malicious bodily wounding under Article 4 (§ 18.2-51 et seq.);

e. Robbery under § 18.2-58 and carjacking under § 18.2-58.1;

f. Except as otherwise provided in § 18.2-67.5:2 or § 18.2-67.5:3, criminal sexual assault punishable as a felony under Article 7 (§ 18.2-61 et seq.); or

g. Arson in violation of § 18.2-77 when the structure burned was occupied or a Class 3 felony violation of § 18.2-79.

(ii) conspiracy to commit any of the violations enumerated in clause (i) of this section; and (iii) violations as a principal in the second degree or accessory before the fact of the provisions enumerated in clause (i) of this section.

Washington Post Article

Via Clandestine Media.

While I have all the guns I need for just about everything I do I was missing a higher power hunting rifle. I needed something for Elk or Nilgai. I considered the 7 mag, 300 WinMag and 300 WSM. With the heavy bullets the 7mag is a great round and I can still shoot lighter […]

Where will you go when disaster strikes? For many wealthy preppers, the answer lies underground – in a ridiculously swanky bunker. Check out these luxurious doomsday bunkers that are changing the survival shelter game.

Doomsday Bunkers from Around the World

Many survivalists dream of owning the ultimate underground bunker – but for these super wealthy preppers, that dream is now a reality. Complete with swimming pools, movie theaters and more, these luxurious doomsday bunkers are the best of the best. Check out these 5 doomsday bunkers that are the ultimate in survival shelters.

1. The Missile Silo Bunker

Created by Larry Hall in Kansas, the Missile Silo stretches 174 feet underground and has walls that are nine feet thick. This bunker offers a luxurious safe haven for when things get out of hand. It includes a swimming pool, library, and even a movie theater. You can purchase a condo inside the Missile Silo for $2 million.

2. The “Europa One” Bunker

Vivos is currently working on a luxurious fallout bunker in Germany called the Europe One. The bunker will be able to withstand a nuclear blast, chemical agents, earthquakes and any other disasters. The bunker will be 250,000 square feet and will be able to house 6,000 people. The Europe One will come fully equipped with luxurious swimming pools, theaters, gyms and a self-contained water and power generation system.

3. The “Home Within A Home” Bunker

During the Cold War, the original owner of this home decided to build a bunker 26 feet under his home. The owner designed the bunker to be a “home within a home” for a long-term stay. He added an outdoor area and a swimming pool, plus many more unique features. The home is estimated to cost about $1.7 million. Click here to check out the home within a a home bunker.

4. The Seed Vault Bunker

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is located 810 miles away from the North Pole. Various countries contributed towards the building of the bunker back in 2006. The facility stores seeds from a variety of plants in case a major catastrophe occurs. It was reported in 2015 that the bunker held about 420 million seeds.

5. The Atlas Bunker

Atlas, an American company, constructs affordable survival shelters priced between $36,000 to $86,000. For $85,000 you can buy a 10×51 shelter with an air filtration system, blast-proof doors, dinner table, kitchen, shower, entertainment center, bunk beds and under-floor storage.

Check out the video below to learn more about these doomsday bunkers:

For awesome survival gear you can’t make at home, check out the Survival Life Store!

Want to read more about doomsday bunkers? Check out the posts below!

Shelter in Place | How to Stay Safe in a Pandemic

Family-Friendly Storm Shelters

The Weakness Of Underground Bunkers

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