America 2020: Learning to Live with Violence

Ferfal, Been watching your interviews with Matt Bracken; there is really nothing else like them on the internet right now. Very timely.

I'm wondering if you can talk more about your experience in Argentina living day-to-day with increased violence; was the transition from "normal" sudden or gradual, when did you know it was different, how did you adjust? I'm finding right now, most people I know think they are going to be walking around with their ARs and plate-carriers all the time. Others don't think the violence (or hunger) will affect them.

I've been reading your blog since 2011 and your descriptions of the type of violence really made an impression on me. I remember one story in particular about a lady at a party stuffing food into her purse talking about how nice all the food was because she was starving. I also bought my first Glock 19 and box of Gold Dot several years ago based on your recommendation. So thanks. Look forward to the next interview.

Hope to hear you tell some stories about how things deteriorated and how you adjusted to daily life with violence. Best,

Pete

 

Hello Pete, thank you for your email.

First, allow me to apologize to everyone for not keeping up with the website as usual. The reality is that youtube, Instagram and facebook have been taking up most of my time. Those are where I reach the most people and that keeps me busy, especially since I’m also doing Spanish content too, which is fortunately doing very well. The Spanish translation of “Street Survival Skills” called “Manual de Supervivencia Urbana” is the #1 selling survival book in Spanish and just reached 100 reviews in amazon.es. I also finished a French version which will be available soon after the translator checks the proof copy. As you can imagine, this plus family including a baby and a teen about to start college keep me pretty busy. 

I do want to take the opportunity to plug my latest book though, “Street Survival Skill”, which is a practical survival manual for the kind of thing you are seeing currently in America and my first book “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” that is about to reach 500 reviews in Amazon, very relevant too.

I’m glad you are enjoying our podcasts with Matt Bracken. Guys, check it out this Saturday 3PM live. You can also watch the previous ones as well.

Living with violence… man, I’ve been writing about that for over a decade now, where to start? Best way to describe it is yes, some things happen fast and catch you by surprise. For example the kind of violence you are seen in the streets right now, you can see people get attacked in roadblocks, shot at, and it’s just stuff people didn’t expect to ever see in their country, certainly not in their own community. So that sort of thing tends to catch you by surprise. Then again, a lot has also been going on for quite some time. It’s just that now it’s more visible, more 3^rd world-like so as to put it some way. I bet most Americans never thought they’d see this kind of barbaric, primitive behaviour. When you see those images of “peaceful protesters” tearing down statues and monuments, attacking the police, its looks like straight out of a third world country.

Many of these things you end up adapting to. You mention your Glock 19, something I always insisted on. Now, more and more people see that their low capacity 380ACP pocket gun is… inadequate to say the least given the mobs of “peaceful protestors” rioting and attacking innocent people.

I don’t know how you get used to it. Truth be told you still have a long way to go until levels of crime dictate the kind of security that is mandatory for most of the 3^rd world, but you still have to start watching your back more and be more careful. Some of these things I describe quite in detail in “Street Survival Skills”, especially in regards to the grey man approach, keeping your opinions to yourself and avoiding confrontation. Doesn’t make much of a political statement but it’s the best way to stay out of trouble. These days, people are getting fired for even posting that all lives matter online, something that was rather obvious until not that long ago.

I will say though, although you CAN learn to live with violence, it’s not fun and it drains you mentally, physically and emotionally. These are times in which you really want to look around you and ask yourself if this specific place is where you want to be when things get considerably worse, as they most likely will.

FerFAL

Check out my new Book “Street Survival Skills” . 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”

Texas Hero: 357 SIG, Tactics and other Thoughts

Sweden: How to Prepare for the "Multicultural" Changes

“Street Survival Skills” Book Review

Loup over at Full Spectrum Preparedness did a pretty in-depth review of my latest book, “Street Survival Skills”.

This is a fully objective review, I didn’t send a copy for him to review, he procured one himself so shout out to you Loup and thanks for supporting my work! (Link to the review in his website).

“Street Survival Skills” is available in Amazon and covers a number of practical skills, focusing mostly on safety and self defense but also covers more general practical preparedness concepts, from power outages to cooking and water purification. Lots of drawings and sketches throughout the book explain skills and tips in detail.

If you have the book already and liked it, please take a minute and leave a review in Amazon, it would be greatly appreciated.
Take care folks!

FerFAL

Check out my new Book “Street Survival Skills” . 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”

London Trip: Thoughts, Brexit, and Tips on Security while Traveling

This is what REAL SHTF looks like in a Farm or Homestead

The genocide of white farmers in South Africa continues and it seems that the main stream media cant be bothered to cover it. What those people have gone through and still go through today is unbelievable. Still, it is a lesson on what happens when a government is no longer providing security for the population or in the case of South Africa, when the government officially declares open season on white people.

For those that think you’ll be able to remain safe in an isolated homestead while surrounded by vicious animals, think again:

South African farmer's wife, 45, relives the horrific moment a gunman raped her in front of her children after shooting his way into their home, molesting her daughter and forcing her into sex by threatening to kill her son

A South African mother was put through a 'living nightmare' by a rapist who held a gun to her children's head to force her into sex.
Nicky, 45, was raped in front of her children by 32-year-old Sebenzile Simane - who also sexually molested his victim's daughter after shooting his way into the farm house.
Simane, who also tied the family up and stole their money, was handed two life sentences and a total of 173 years in prison after he was found guilty of the string of violent crimes in South Africa's Eastern Cape.
The white-washed £1.3million farmhouse - set in nearly 1,000 acres of land - had belonged to the family for a century and Nicky's two sons, aged nine and 15, and her 13-year-old daughter had been brought up there.
But Simane apparently felt he had been wronged by Nicky's farmer husband and came seeking deadly revenge on the family.
The family home was so remote that their nearest neighbour was a mile away and did not hear the gunshots at the home.
After surviving the horrific ordeal the family is now planning to move to Australia to set up a new farm there.
Campaign group AfriForum says that Afrikaner and European farmers are under daily attack in the country.
Sebenzile Simane, pictured has been given two life sentences for the string of violent crimes in March last year.
Describing what happened on March 23, 2018, Nicky said a stream of bullets came blasting through the patio door, narrowly missing her 15-year-old son's head.
Nicky said: 'With the bullets smashing through the windows I can only describe our feeling as being hunted like wild animals.
He shot his way through a sliding patio door to get in. 'What followed I can only describe as four hours of pure hell – just sick torture and depravity,' Nicky said.
'He held the gun to my nine-year-old son's head and threatened to shoot him unless I complied.
'I told my little one to be quiet or else this man would kill us. All I saw were his silent tears rolling down his little cheeks for the next four hours. The sight of that will be with me forever.
'He tied us all up with fencing wire so tight that our hands lost their circulation and turned grey.
'He shouted at my children that he was there to kill their father and that he would chop him up in front of them. He said that when he came through the door they would watch him butchered. He then repeatedly threatened to shoot my eldest son's feet off if he didn't obey him and then ordered him to rape me. I had never heard such a sick thing before and was totally mortified.
All I could do was beg him not to make my son do that. He just kept pointing the gun at my son's feet and saying he would shoot them unless he raped his mum in front of his brother and sister.
The white-washed £1.3million farmhouse - set in nearly 1,000 acres of land - had belonged to the family for a century
'I begged and pleaded with him not to do this and to take me to another room and take me instead.'
Explaining what happened next, she said: 'He grabbed me and forced me to my bedroom and raped me there. There was blood everywhere as I had already been badly shot. I could do nothing as my hands were tied behind my back.
'He then brought my 13-year-old daughter to the bedroom, undressed her and attempted to rape her. He was sexually molesting her and all I could do was beg for mercy and to take me again.
'So instead of raping her he forced my beautiful innocent daughter to watch as he raped me again.
'I cannot describe the anger this man displayed toward us and I knew as he raped me that if my children had any chance of survival I had to get this man away from them and the farm house.
'You don't care about yourself - you just don't want your children to die and you do all you can.'
Describing how she finally shook the man off, she said: 'He had tried to start our car outside but couldn't get it going so in a bid to buy my family time I told him to take my bank cards and pin numbers and to let me drive him to town to the ATM.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7147287/South-African-mother-45-raped-children.html)

People, enjoy life, live where you want and how you want but don’t kid yourself about what a worst case scenario would be like.

FerAL

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”

Cellphone stops bullet, saves woman’s life (for real!)

This happened in Tucumán, Argentina a couple days ago.

A women was mugged and the bastard shot her while fighting over her cellphone.
In what I can only assume is a typical instinctive reaction of bringing your hands up to defend yourself, the phone was shot and the bullet didnt have enough strength to seriously wound her, only suffering minor cuts along her arm and abdomen.

The hole looks small, most likely 22LR. Even if just a 22, that’s some serious luck. Must have been with the phone at an angle, the round further losing velocity along the arm (maybe clothes) and then hitting her abdomen with low enough velocity. Or maybe the bullet just fragmeneted a lot when hitting the battery, Gorilla glass backed by a screen protector.

Its very interesting. Look at how big that exit hole is. The phone did a far better job than I'd think.
Anyway, she should try getting a few lottery tickets as well!

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”

Felons painting real guns to look like toys

Seems the practice has been going on for a while.

 

Police raid felon’s hotel room, catch him painting shotgun to look like a toy

This last time it happened in Spokane.  A felon was caught painting a real sawed-off shotgun with bright yellow and green to look like a nerf gun. He also painted the end of the barrel with  bright orange, typical of toys.

Very dangerous. This would no doubt stop a police officer from shooting and give a criminal all the time he needs to land his own fatal shot.

Its important to know about these tricks used by criminals so as to not immediately ignore the threat just because of how the gun looks.

Rather than being distracted by colours, ask yourself why this shady looking guy is prowling with a “toy” gun that should be in the hands of an actual child. It may not be a “toy” gun at all.

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”

Autistic 6 year old goes missing & found dead: A reminder to us all

You  probably heard the news of Maddox Ritch, the 6 year old boy with autism that went missing 5 days ago and who’s body was found just a couple hours ago.

We still don’t know what happened for sure. So far his father says they went for a walk in the park, Maddox took off running after a jogger, the father let him get a bit too far, and by the time he ran after him to catch up with him it was too late. He was lost. Today his body was found.
My point with today’s post people, is complacency.

Complacency kills in survival. You never let your guard down. You never allow your kids out of your sight, not for a second. You never let them get beyond your reach. With kids, there’s no place too safe.  Perverts are EVERYWHERE, even in the safest of places.

But complacency also applies to security, keeping your car doors locked. Locking your doors and windows. Never answering and opening your door to people you don’t know.
It applies to keeping track of y
our preps as well. What supplies you have, expiration dates and so on.
Stay safe people.
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”

Krav Maga for Preparedness & Self Defense

Hi Ferfal,
I just wanted to add my two cents, I have read your first book and have acted on alot of your advice its good stuff. I have a background in Taekwando from years ago and had since got older and heavier, basically about 40 lbs overweight. I started a Krav class about eight months ago and until then had no idea how out of of shape I was, we train hand to hand, weapons and do a lot of ground work. Its just three times a week but we usually are so sore and beat up from it that is about all we can stand.

I am lucky to have some great instructors, one is currently in federal law enforcement with a 20 year background in judo and Bjj, the other is former military and owns an executive protection company, these guys are the real deal. So far I like the training, it is fairly intense and injuries are common, I like that the instructors train us in what works best, be it krav, bjj or judo.

We spar occasionally, and just like anything in life results may vary, you will get out of it what you put into it, its all about getting to your personal best. At this point I am stronger, faster and better trained than at any point in my life, I have no illusions about my capabilities at this point, still about ten pounds to go and another year or two of training, but I am already so far ahead of where I started. Thanks for the advice, no doubt it will help myself and family in the future.
A-
.

Hello A, thanks for sharing your experience.

I’m actually about to start in a new gym and take some Krav Maga. As I said before it really depends on how lucky you are with the instructor and school you come across. In general I’ve seen a lot of feel good commercial nonsense, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed this time!

Sounds like you landed in a great place with serious people. Keep in mind the idea isnt to get hurt, but I do want to have at last a bit of non-cooperative training and sparring to keep it real.
Also, as you well explain, it’s a reality check regarding our fitness level, which is also very important, for lots of people a wakeup call.

At the end of the day people, go out there and try stuff. At the very least you can say you didn’t like it, and also remember that doing something is FAR better than doing nothing and having NO training or self defense training whatsoever.
Take care!
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”

White genocide in South Africa: Farmlands (2018) Documentary

I've posted before about the terrible situation white farmers and white people in general are going through in South Africa.
Its simple genocide folks, people being killed because of the color of their skin, systematically murdered by those in power.
Make the time and do watch this video, you owe it to yourself. Tons of valuable information regarding how a tyrannical government goes about slaughtering part of its population.

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”

Texas home Invasion: 7 year old tortured in front of parents

People, just a reminder. A post to put things back into perspective.
So you have your little subcompact gun, tiny enough to carry it concealed behind your ear, because that’s what all the cool kids are doing these days.
And then this happens.

'Cowards' placed boy, 7, underwater in bathtub as parents watch during home invasion, sheriff says

You need to be reminded of this, believe this can happen to you tomorrow. Can happen to you today. Your wife tortured, your kids tortured. Only then will you change the mentality from what little gun goes best with your skinny jeans or digs in less into your super thin, ultra-sensitive skin into wanting the most ammo and most powerful gun you can shoot fast and accurately and above all, into having the instinct to kill people with a fork if necessary.

They are animals. Worse than animals they are monsters and need to be destroyed whatever it takes.
Once this reality sinks in and is fully assimilated then believe you me, you will no longer care for what’s comfortable or what’s cool. You will want effective killing tools. Several of them. You will want to master them and above all and most important, you will have the determination to use them.
Things like these, it’s a daily occurrence in places like Buenos Aires. I’ve been living in that reality for more years than I care for. You know what we didn’t talk about with like-minded people? How can I carry a smaller gun with less ammo. That’s the kind of thing discussed by first worlders, people that down deep don’t think they will ever need a gun.

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”

5 car Stickers that Criminals use Against You!

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.

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”

(Video) Brazilian Police Woman shoots Bad Guy

Hi FerFal,
Just an article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5724427/Gunmans-attempted-robbery-families-waiting-outside-school-Sao-Paulo-foiled-mother.html
Apart from the praise of her awareness, the lady showed quite a good tactical movement (even the robber down, she immediately went for cover, still maintaining aim), and it's also worth noticing this form of concealed carry: in her bag.
I wouldn't bet she can draw a gun from her bag without alerting the robber, but she did, and exactly how you wrote about the 4-o-clock carry: partially turning away, covering her gun right until taking aim and then shooting immediately, without warnings, without 'just wounding', right for the most probable way of downing the attacker.
In addition to it, this is quite a good pro-gun argument. I don't think too much wannabe-robbers will try again at that school.
Take care,
G.
Ps.: I just wish our police would be this alert too...
.

Hello G.
Yes, saw it a couple days ago. Brazilian police do not mess around. Lots of hands on experience and it shows in the determination displayed when actual fights go down.
She did several things right, many that are quite hard to do in the heat of the moment under such stress.
She picks the right time to make her move, shoots several times, manages not to shoot any of the several bystanders, moves for cover behind the engine of the car, then moves forward again and kicks the gun away form the attacker.
Just a well trained lady with nerves of steel.
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”

WROL in Mexico: What it’s like when people self-govern

José Santos at a checkpoint near the entrance to Tancítaro. Fed up with both the cartels and the government, the people of Tancítaro pushed out both. Credit Brett Gundlock for The New York Times

A very interesting article about how people are running their own cities and territories as the central government of Mexico fails to deal with the drug cartels and widespread corruption.

Losing Faith in the State, Some Mexican Towns Quietly Break Away

The article is well worth your time but what I take from it is how complex these situations can be. At the end of the day when the government leaves a void regarding safety people have to defend themselves any way they can. Even then, it is not the safe utopia many survivalists often envision in their fantasies:

Monterrey: ‘They Destroyed the Whole Thing’
If Tancítaro seceded with a gun, then the city of Monterrey, home to many top Mexican corporations, did it with a Rolodex and a handshake.
Rather than ejecting institutions, Monterrey’s business elite quietly took them over — all with the blessing of their friends and golf partners in public office.
But their once-remarkable progress is now collapsing. Crime is returning.
“I’m telling you, I have a long career in these matters, and the project I am more proud of than anything is this one in Monterrey,” said Jorge Tello, a security consultant and former head of the national intelligence agency.
“It’s very easy to lose it,” he warned, adding that it may already be too late.
Monterrey’s experiment began over a lunch. Mr. Tello was dining with the governor, who received a call from José Antonio Fernández, the head of Femsa, one of Mexico’s largest companies.
Femsa’s private security guards, while ferrying employees’ children to school, had been attacked by cartel gunmen, he said. Two had died repelling what was most likely a kidnapping attempt.

In many cases the already existing socio-political structures can be used at a local level, but self-governing rather than taking orders from an incompetent and corrupt central government.
It also helps if the region is economically self-sustainable.

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”

Rodney King Riots After Action Repot

Fer Fal could you critique this guy's actions? I think it would be better to stay inside the theater.

http://www.seraphicpress.com/jew-without-a-gun/

-Tom

.

Hi Tom, sure thing.

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.

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”

American Tourist Stabbed in Argentina: 10 Lessons learned

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.

Money Belt For Travel With RFID Blocking Sleeves Set For Daily Use $15.03

Criminals will not strip you naked when attacking. They’ll just take your handbag or wallet. As for camera, don’t bring anything you’re not willing to part with in a split second. You may want to leave your fancy cell phone behind and get around with a cheap one too.
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”

Reply: American tourist stabbed 10 times in La Boca, Buenos Aires

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

That’s good advice. Those money belts are priceless and work very well. If mugged just give up your wallet, make sure you don’t keep anything too valuable there. I’d keep my original passport in there, not a copy.
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”

New terror attack in Barcelona: 5 easy tips to Remember

You probably know by now that a van plowed into the crowd on Las Ramblas avenue in Barcelona, killing 13 and injuring 100 people.

As soon as I heard about the attack I called my brother who was visiting family in Barcelona. Fortunately he left yesterday, a day earlier than expected. He had been thinking of staying another day. He easily could have been caught walking La Rambla if they had stayed another day.
Another terrorist attack, another lunatic picking a big vehicle and just mowing people.

What can you do?
You can’t do much to stop these events because cars are readily available and it takes very little research to figure out the most packed locations.
You can do something about letting known terrorist out and about. You can deport know radicals rather than give them some slack and just hope they don’t murder innocent people.
Above all, you can remove every single mosque that doesn’t publicly condemn these attacks and cooperates with authorities 100%. The number of imams that refuse to do so is astonishing and getting rid of those would be a big step forward in getting rid of their most visible and obvious indoctrination centres. It seems though that not enough blood has been spilled to overcome political correctness.
What can you do on a more personal level?

1)Know where they attack. They usually go for high profile targets. Large, emblematic cities, attacking in their centres.

2)Avoid these potential targets, especially at time of peak activity with target rich locations. Concerts, festivals, peak holyday season. Wherever you have a lot of people packed together, that’s an ideal target for a terrorist. I’m not saying not to live your life, just understand the risks when it comes to terrorists.

3)Awareness. Mind your surroundings. Look ahead of you and behind you. What’s going on 100 yards ahead and 100 yards behind. LISTEN. This is usually a great indicator of trouble. Shots fired, screams. In my experience you usually hear trouble before you see it.

4)Take action. Avoid being the deer caught in the headlights. When you see, listen or feel something is wrong, do something. In most cases that “something” should be start moving towards a safer direction, either getting behind cover, avoiding a speeding vehicle or attacker heading towards you.

5) Carry your EDC kit, especially a first aid kit in your EDC bag when at high risk locations as the ones mentioned above. Celox gauze, a tourniquet. Add a blow out kit if you got trainning on how to use it. Don’t forget your EDC, a knife can be used to cut open clothes, remove cords or clothes or seatbelts wrapped around people’s neck. Heck, I used my knife today to help out a baby girl in the street (more on this tomorrow) Where and when legal, you should carry your CCW too.

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”

Choosing the right Red Dot/ Holo sight for you and why the answer is Aimpont

So I found myself in that position. A new gun that needs a glass. In this case it’s a Colt M4, 14.5 inch barrel. Sure enough, I’m looking at a gun that is intended for short to medium range, so not a big magnified scope but instead a red dot sight or holographic sight.
If you’re like me, you want quality but you hope there’s something good out there that doesn’t break the bank. Here’s the thought process I went through and how I ended up with an Aimpoint Micro in spite of having initially discarded it.

Eotech.
The military uses them, so they must be good. Circle and Dot? Sounds good. A big circle for quick shots close up and that 2MOA dot for more pinpoint accuracy at longer ranges. Perfect.
Well… no. Turns out the US military is currently suing Eotech because they have lied about their specs. They wouldn’t keep their zero and also had problems with their water resistance. While many people do still trust them, to pay that much money for a product when the company is being sued by its main client didn’t make much sense to me.
So a red dot it is.

Holosun, Vortex, Primary Arms…
Knowing that Aimpoint was crème de la crème but not wanting to spend that much money, these are the brands I started to look into. Most of the reviews were very good, lots of happy customers. Vortex are rugged and have good specs, Holosun have neat features, auto on/off, models that have motion detector to turn on, Solar powered sights. Vortex has the Spark AR which seemed ideal, using common AAA under the optic.
After taking a good long look at these brands, watching youtube reviews, reading articles and such I came to the obvious conclusion: These are nice “budget” red dots made in China. Some are better than others, have slightly better reviews or better durability, or better features, better runtime, but at the end of the day… budget light made in China.
What does this mean? Well, it means less quality, less durability. The battery won’t last as long, or the design and built quality isn’t as good. Even more important nearly all of them suffered sudden death at one point, even after one or two shots in some cases. Switches would break or fail, the red dot, was more of a line, the auto on feature would stop working, the zero would be impossible to keep. With every one of them there was always something. And here is where you come to the obvious conclusion I mentioned above, which is that if you want extreme reliability and durability in spite of the intrinsically fragile, state of the art tech, you need to buy the crème de la crème. You need that “Made in Sweden” quality. If you want to be sure that sight will still be on and bright 3 or 4 years from now when someone breaks into your house, if you don’t want your sight to die, move 5 feet to the left or become so dim its impossible to see in the middle of that gun fight you wished you never saw in your life, then go for it. Save up those extra couple hundred bucks, save money here and there and get yourself the Aimpoint. An Aimpont Micro T2 may be worth 600 bucks, but a broken Holosun or Vortex is worth 0.00 USD.  Even worse, it may cost your life, and that’s a damn high price to pay.

Ok.. which Aimpoint?

Aimpoint PRO Patrol Rifle Optic $449

So you made up your mind and are spending the big bucks. What about Triijcon red dot? Tirjicon is still rather new to the red dot game, and Aimpoint is still king of the hill. If you want something like an ACOG then sure, Trijicon is what you go for, but for red dot sights Aimpoint is still the best most proven brand.

Aimpoint Micro T-2 2 MOA Sight with Standard Mount $715.99

Aimpoint options are basically Pro,  micro T2 and H2. The Pro is clearly bigger, almost twice the weight but very durable. The micros are almost half the weight, much more compact and yet very durable. This is why you seem them so often being used by guys running nice guns. The H2 and T2 are very similar, look the exact same, but the T2 is night vision compatible and has better water and temperature resistance specs. My advice is to go for the T2 or Pro if you don’t care about the extra weight and size, but if you don’t care about the night vision, the H2 is still tough as nails and wont let you down. Any of the three would make a great purchase if one sale, so maybe just buy the one your see priced best if you don’t care about night vision compatibility.
As the saying goes folks, Buy once, Cry once. Words to live by.
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”