Selco: How to Defend Your Home and Yourself When the SHTF

This article was originally published by Selco at The Organic Prepper

Editor’s Note: Have you ever wondered how to defend your home and yourself if the SHTF? In this interview, Selco provides us with information from his personal experience during the occupation of Bosnia. There are many lessons we can learn from his experience. ~ Daisy

What was the most likely crime you would encounter when the SHTF?

Where there is no regular system of law and order you have different kinds of groups who impose that “law and order.” In reality, it is lawlessness or law of whichever group is stronger.

To add to that, when there is not any kind of “law” it is then a matter of a no-rules situation.

That means all kind of violence was there.

In reality, it worked on many different levels. For example, you form an armed neighborhood watch. We did, of some 15 people, in our street. Sometimes, in the middle of the of night, we were faced with a group of 50 men demanding something from us. For example, one was a group of people in uniform who stated that they were government forces and they wanted to check our neighborhood for whatever reason.

We could obey or fight or negotiate. All combination were tested over the time, and sad truth is that when SHTF for serious there is gonna be many different groups who will “represent” government (or law, or order or you name it). But in reality, it all comes down to who will outsmart who.

The most likely crimes were connected with resources because simply in that time and city there was not enough resources.

So it was about who owned how much (resources), and ways to take those resources from other folks.

It worked on a low level. For example, a few guys could kill you in the street and take your possessions, or on a bigger level – a local gang (if strong enough) could own your part of town and terrorize you and other folks by taking your stuff with brute force.

How did you make your home less desirable to criminals?

First, it was important where your home is, even in urban settings your house can be kinda “isolated” or stand in a way that it clearly “sticks out.” That was bad, and you could not change it.

Then it was important what period of SHTF we are talking about. At the starting period of SHTF, it was bad if your house was close to some objects that were interesting for looting, like malls, gas stations, police stations, or similar.

Generally speaking, it was better if your home (we are talking about in the city) was in the area where it was more packed with houses, simply because it was easier to blend in. Also, as the situation worsened we could use close houses too as they became destroyed or abandoned, which gave us more options, especially in terms of security.

The first level of making a  home “less desirable” to criminals was simple blending in. I point it out very often as the most important thing in a home defense plan.

It may seem hard to understand why I point it out so much, but think about it this way:

In order to “pacify” and “own” a city, you need to have a huge military force, organized in a perfect way. Even then it is impossible to be safe in that city. There are many examples of that in modern history.

In my case, and in that SHTF, nobody really “owned” the city. There were many groups trying to acomplish that through different methods. But in reality and on the ground it was a situation where nothing was for sure.

As a result, most of the home invasions were a matter of opportunity. If attackers saw the opportunity they took it.

It was not a rule, but it was very often like that.

As a result, a good plan was not to be that opportunity.

In my case that meant we tried to keep our activities on a low level when it came to giving up information about resources in our home.

For example, if we needed to drag some bags of food home we did it so no one saw it. If we cooked something, sometimes even a nice smell could pose a possible danger.

In short, it was time to be quiet and look for danger.

For example, to transfer it to your world-  if something serious happens there in your city do you want to be the only guy in the neighbourhood running a generator? Or do you want to be only one who has a barbecue every night when SHTF?

In my case, sometimes people did even more drastic things, like placing dead animals somewhere so stench could fend off intruders. It was not about scaring the attacker with the stench. It was about a situation where you have 20-30 houses very close to each other, and you have 50 people going through your street, mostly armed. And they look for useful things, they are scavenging. They might take a chance and fight if they find people defending some house, or they might not, you never know.

So you make your house or your entrance and yard look abandoned, deserted destroyed, dirty…by putting some garbage, obstacles from ruins, some dead animals and you hope they will choose some other house because other houses look easier to get in and more desirable.

People do not go gladly into places where they suspect dead things are or go gladly through some obstacles that can hurt them (remember-no doctor). They will chose another target.

That is the first line of defense. The second line is you and the people inside waiting with guns.

Now, this may look stupid to you. You might say,”Oh, this is the US. It does not work like that here.” But think about principles, maybe in your case some CDC label (“infectious diseases” or “bodies inside”) works.

For example, in my case, a sign warning of “mines” would do a pretty good job but it might be good only for my region.

It is all about deterring those who are thinking about coming to your home.

How did you secure your doors and windows?

First, it was very important not to “trap yourself” in. There was no sense, if you were under attack, being so well fortified that you could not get out.

Alternate exit and entrances were very useful at that time, not only because of defense. Very often, it was good to leave and enter your home invisibly. You were never sure who monitored you and the stuff you were taking into your home.

Most of our houses are brick or stone houses, so from that point pretty good for smaller calibers. Very soon people started to reinforce doors and windows with whatever was available that offered protection.

One of the coolest was steel sewage covers. Those covers offered good protection. The favorite was dirt bags in combination with boards (planking).

Of course, we used also whatever was available, so a laundry machine, for example, was a good addition for “plugging” a hole.

Can you tell us about your home defense plan? How did you defend your home?

The house was always guarded, all the time.

Depending on the situation (or let us use the term “threat level”) it was guarded and defended in layers. The outer layer, for example, started on the street, through the neighboring abandoned house, then to the last layer – our house.

If you had to fight, it was bad if you failed to use outer levels and the fight started in your house.

If you choose to avoid fighting, then the outer levels may not be implemented at all. You could wait and hope to avoid the fight unless they attacked your home.

Another good term that comes to mind is that situation was dynamic. Based on that, we adapted.

Sometimes the situation dictated that the threat would be eliminated quickly out in the street.

No rules.

We were not soldiers, and the people who attacked us were not soldiers in most of the situations. We were closer to some kind of militia probably when it came to the rules of fighting.

Our weapons and condition was a matter of many other factors:

• how much ammo we had


• how many sick group members


• did some of us had a grenade in given moment

Then it was a question of how the attackers looked to us:

• organized or not


• what kind of weapon they had


• any visible fighting skills


• RPGs


• organized gang or bunch of desperate folks

Every situation was different.

How great was the risk of being assaulted when you were away from home?

It was a great risk because you were exposed much more to the danger then being inside your home.

It is important to understand that sooner or later you’ll be forced to go out, and in urban settings that means you meet other people.

The point of prepping is to postpone that moment (by having a lot of resources in your home) until you figure out what is going on outside.

You can try to minimize the risk of violence when you are out by carefully planning all your trips and tasks and using as much information available in that planning. But in reality, in urban settings, there are simply too many factors. You never knew what you find out outside your home while you are looking for firewood for example.

Were women victimized? How did they protect themselves?

In any societal breakdowns, women are victimized.

Also in any modern society, there are certain people who are, let’s say sick, but they are under the care of the system (or simply scared of system and punishment that the system will bring to them if they assault women.)

When society’s laws are out, that punishment is also out, so those kind of people are on the hunt.

Women’s victimization is also brought on another level. Powerful groups (gangs) had their own prisons with women inside. That was used as a kind of reward for gang members.

It was also used in a way of bringing terror to the people. For example, rape was used as a punishment in a lot of cases if people would not obey.

It was part of a special war policy if you can call it like that, to know as a fact that women from your family, for example, could end up in a private rape prison.

Fear and terror was a big part of everything.

Women protected themselves in two ways (actually just like males did):

• by belonging to some group, like family, group of friends or similar-sharing their knowledge and role in that survival group


• by joining some other group, more let us say sinister group and looking for safety there in exchange for other activities.

What were the ways people protected themselves?

The most effective way was by organizing into groups that had something in common. The more things, they had in common, the better the group was. People with things in common are more trustful.

Of course, common sense says that no matter how much a group was trustful, if they did not had enough skills and the will to use violence, chances for them were poor.

Quite opposite to some myths, violence was not a solution for everything. Very often it led to death.

The knowledge of how to use violence was very cool, but much more important was the skill to judge WHEN to use violence and when to chose some other way (run, negotiate, trade…)

What are your suggestions for ways we can prepare now to keep our homes and selves safe when the SHTF?

There are no magic solutions.

I am talking from the point of urban survival, and there are two reasons for that:

1. I experienced urban collapse so I have experience there

and

2. Most of the people live in some kind of urban settings, so chances are big you are gonna experience it too.

There is a popular myth that all of us who live in urban settings will “bug out” to our rural retreat on time (I have that plan too), but in reality lot of us who even have the good bug out places out of the urban centers will simply fail to reach it on time. This is reality.

So a few urban survival suggestions to defend your home:

1. Do not be alone when SHTF. No matter how romantic it looks to be the lone wolf, it is hard and almost impossible to survive it alone without help. You are gonna be sick, you are gonna be forced to be on guard 24 hrs a day, you are gonna have hard time looking for resources…


2. Find like minded people (preferably before SHTF). You need time to find people, and you need time to get to know that people.


3. Be ready for violence. Both physically and mentally, practice with your weapon and be very familiar with your skills and especially with your limitations. Use common sense in choosing your weapons. Check what is useful to have in your situation.(For example, in my situation it made sense to have AK, CZ and similar.)


4. Look at your home from the point of defending/attacking it. Look today how your home stands, how you can improve it, for example in “deterring” possible attackers, neighboring houses, ways of approach, possible booby traps, ways to quickly reinforce your home…

At the end, you need to get up and work pretty hard in order to be prepared for a real collapse, No internet article can teach you that. It can only give you highlights or possible direction.

******

About the Author

Selco survived the Balkan war of the 90s in a city under siege, without electricity, running water, or food distribution. In his online works, he gives an inside view of the reality of survival under the harshest conditions. He reviews what works and what doesn’t, tells you the hard lessons he learned, and shares how he prepares today. He never stopped learning about survival and preparedness since the war. Regardless what happens, chances are you will never experience extreme situations like Selco did. But you have the chance to learn from him and how he faced death for months. Real survival is not romantic or idealistic. It is brutal, hard and unfair. Let Selco take you into that world.

You can learn more about Selco at his website, SHTFschool.com. Check out his online courses and physical courses for a reality check about SHTF scenarios.

WW3: Japan Activates Marines For First Time Since WWII On Chinese Border

Fears of a third world war spiked over the weekend as Japan activated their marines for the first time since World War 2. About 2,100 members of the Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade (ARDB) were activated in a ceremony in which the troops wore camouflage.

ARDB also completed a 20-minute mock drill for the public in which the “retook” an island from an invading force. According to Reuters, the formation of the Japanese marine brigade is controversial because amphibious units can project military force and could, critics warn, be used to threaten Japan’s neighbors. In its post-WW2 constitution, Japan renounced the right to wage war.

The newly activated unit is highly trained to counter invaders occupying Japanese islands along the edge of the East China Sea that Tokyo fears are vulnerable to attack by China. “Given the increasingly difficult defense and security situation surrounding Japan, defense of our islands has become a critical mandate,” Tomohiro Yamamoto, vice defense minister, said in a speech.

The brigade is the latest component of a growing marine force that includes helicopter carriers, amphibious ships, Osprey tilt-rotor troop carriers, and amphibious assault vehicles. All of these marine measures are meant to deter China as it pushes for easier access to the Western Pacific.

The activation of the 2,100 strong ARDB takes Japan a step closer to creating a force similar to a U.S. Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) able to plan and execute operations at sea far from its home base. “They’ve already demonstrated the ability to put together an ad hoc MEU. But to have a solid, standing MEU capability requires a concerted effort,” Grant Newsham, a research fellow at the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies. “If Japan put its mind to it, within a year or year and a half it could have a reasonable capability.”

Coincidentally, the United States last month deployed its F-35Bs for their first at-sea operations aboard the USS Wasp amphibious assault ship, which is based in Sasebo. The Kyushu port is also home to Japan’s Ise and close to the ARDB’s base.

All of these military decisions seem to coalesce and reignite fears of a war. The amphibious marine force of Japan has been advancing over the past few years with the help of the United States Marines. 

Texas Churches May Establish and Maintain Their Own Security Teams

by Eric Inman

Ten years ago, a private security company in Texas posed a question to the TX dept. of public safety – whether churches were subject to the regulations of occupational code section 1702, which regulate and license  private security companies.  The resulting opinion was that, yes, they were.

From that time forward, Texas churches were honor-bound to not operate armed security teams – unless team members held private security certifications, and were under the authority of a private security certificate holder’s license. 

The same company that posed the question immediately launched their solution: They would train church volunteers for armed security teams,  the church would pay for all the training, plus – churches would pay the company an hourly rate for any hours worked by the volunteers – who, essentially became unpaid employees of the company. The obvious implication was that the company planned this sweetheart deal all along.

Churches all over Texas were compelled to tell their retired law enforcement professionals, and others, who made up their volunteer teams, that they could no longer serve. Now, only active duty LEO’s, and/or level 4 (armed, 40 hours training) security officers could participate. Not surprisingly, many or most law enforcement retirees, with thousands of hours of training and experience, refused to become a private security guard for that purpose. Several of those honorably retired law enforcement professionals testified at various hearings during the past two legislative sessions. Additionally, not many of the approximately 24,000 evangelical Christian churches in Texas could afford to pay for this scheme… and the results were:  a) Churches ignored the opinion and continued to operate their teams, b) They complied, or, c) They disbanded their armed teams or never formed one.

Fortunately, in September 2017 that all changed. Due to the efforts of Rep. Matt Rinaldi, Rep. Matt Schaefer, and many others, HB421 was passed (under another bill as an add-on), which removed “places of worship” from the 1702 security regulations.

Happily, churches may now – without governmental interference – establish and maintain their own security teams, armed or otherwise.

E. Inman

Sr. Special Agent, USNPS, (Ret.)

Featured photo: Screen shot of Eric Inman testifying before the Texas House of Representatives Homeland Security & Public Safety Committee, March 7, 2017.  Homeland Security & Public Safety – Mar 7th, 2017

If you believe in the mission of Oath Keepers, to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, please make a donation to support our work.  
You can donate HERE.

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DHS Announces Program to ILLEGALLY Scan Our Faces—And They’re Forcing Us to Pay For It

Both Congress and the Department of Homeland Security have never justified the biometric scanners at airports that could cost Americans $1 billion in 2018.

Gold: Isn’t the Whole Idea to Buy Low and Sell High?

Isn’t the Whole Idea to Buy Low and Sell High?

Authored by Adam Baratta

When it comes to the gold market, perhaps the old saying should be changed to “buy low and sell high-if ever.” That is likely the mentality behind gold investors at this point, as the yellow metal remains stuck in a trading range.

The gold market has some issues working against it currently. Higher stocks, a stronger economy and overall robust appetite for risk are all playing a role in the market’s current lack of upside follow through. In the absence of any fresh, bullish catalyst, gold could remain on the weaker side of the ledger going into the New Year.

Such a view is, however, dangerous as it does not really examine the bigger picture. If there were no significant reasons for gold to eventually start moving higher, the market would likely have sunk far below its recent lows by this point. Despite short sellers and others taking a bearish view of the metal currently, the market has held its ground. This is undeniably a sign of underlying strength.

Investors have an interesting tendency to view gold very differently from other asset classes such as stocks, for example. But in many ways, some of the same investment principles still apply. For example, if you were a long-term investor in Microsoft, would you rather buy shares at $25 per share or $30 per share? Obviously, buying the stock at $25 per share would be preferable, allowing the investor to potentially realize more gains if the price goes up while also possibly making better overall use of investment capital.

The gold market is no different in this regard. While many investors seemingly want to wait and see the market moving higher before taking action, the savvy investors realize that the old notion of buy low and sell high still applies. This is exactly why the market has not been able to really breakdown-the buyers have met and neutralized any significant selling pressure.

For the investor that is interested in value, and is taking more of a long-term view rather than a short-term view, the current range in the gold market could represent an excellent long-term buying opportunity. The market has shown time and time again that it has the ability to move sharply higher in a short period of time, and the next upside breakout could see such price action once again. Would you rather buy gold at $1250 per ounce or $5000 per ounce?

Now is the ideal time to add to a gold portfolio, and if you don’t already have an allocation in this key asset class, now is the ideal time to get started.

Adding physical gold to your holdings has never been easier than it is today, and you can get started by simply picking up the phone. Speak with an Advantage Gold account executive today about the potential benefits of gold ownership. Our associates are here to answer any questions you may have, and can even show you how to make this asset class a key part of your portfolio using an IRA account.

 Read more from Adam at Advantage Gold

The Biggest Bubble Ever, In Three Charts

Authored by John Rubino via DollarCollapse.com,

Each quarter, Credit Bubble Bulletin’s Doug Noland posts a “flow of funds” report that analyzes the debt and securities markets data released by the Fed in its Z.1 Report. It’s always shocking to see the numbers we’re dealing with, but even more so lately as history’s biggest financial bubble starts to dwarf its predecessors.

Here’s some of the scarier data in chart form, with Noland’s commentary:

To the naked eye, percentage debt growth figures for the most part don’t appear alarming. But there’s several unusual factors to keep in mind. First, the outstanding stock of debt has grown so enormous that huge Credit expansions (such as Q3’s) don’t register as large percentage gains. Second, overall system debt growth continues to be restrained by historically low interest-rates and market yields. Debt simply is not being compounded as it would in a normal rate environment. And third, it’s a global Bubble and a large proportion of global Credit growth is occurring in China, Asia and the emerging markets. U.S. securities markets continue to be a big target of international flows.

 

With global Bubble Dynamics a dominant characteristic of this cycle, it’s appropriate to place Rest of World (ROW) data near the top of Flow of Funds analysis. ROW holdings of U.S. Financial Assets jumped $724 billion (nominal) during the quarter to a record $26.347 TN. This puts growth over the most recent three quarters at a staggering $2.124 TN (16% annualized). What part of these flows has been associated with ongoing rapid expansion of global central bank Credit? It’s worth recalling that ROW holdings ended 2007 at $14.705 TN and 1999 at $5.639 TN. As a percentage of GDP, ROW holdings of U.S. Financial Assets ended 1999 at 57%, 2007 at 100%, and Q3 2017 at a record 135%.

 

 

Meanwhile, the Fed’s Domestic Financial Sectors category expanded assets SAAR $2.841 TN during Q3 to a record $95.213 TN. In nominal dollars, the Financial Sector boosted assets a notable $5.085 TN over the past three quarters, almost 8% annualized growth. Notably, the sector’s holdings of Debt Securities surged a nominal $775 billion in three quarters to a record $25.425 TN. Pension Funds were a huge buyer of Treasuries during the quarter (SAAR $1.075 TN). Over the past three quarters, the Financial Sector boosted holdings of Corporate & Foreign Bonds by nominal $427 billion to $8.026 TN. More very big numbers.

 

One doesn’t have to look much beyond the booming Rest of World and Domestic Financial Sector to explain ongoing over-liquefied securities markets. The numbers confirm a historic financial Bubble.

 

Total Equities Securities jumped $1.229 TN during the quarter to a record $43.969 TN, with a one-year gain of $5.923 TN (16.4%). Equities jumped to a record 224% of GDP, compared to 181% at the end of Q3 2007 and 202% to end 1999. Debt Securities gained $171 billion during Q3 to a record $42.385 TN, with a one-year gain of $1.080 TN. At 217% of GDP, Debt Securities remain just below the record 223% recorded in 2013.

 

 

This puts Total (Debt & Equities) Securities up $1.400 TN during the quarter to a record $86.080 TN. Total Securities inflated $7.003 TN, or 9.1%, over the past year. Total Securities experienced cycle tops of $55.261 TN during Q3 2007 and $36.017 TN to end March 2000. Total Securities ended Q3 2017 at a record 441% of GDP. This outshines the previous cycle peaks of 379% for Q3 2007 and 359% at Q1 2000. One more way to look at post-crisis securities market inflation: Total Securities ended Q3 $30.819 TN, or 56%, higher than the previous cycle peak in Q3 2007.

 

 

There’s no doubt that financial sector leveraging and foreign flows (especially through the purchase of U.S. securities) continue to play an integral role in the U.S. Bubble. Inflating asset prices and resulting bubbling U.S. Household Net Worth are instrumental in fueling the overall U.S. Bubble Economy.

 

As we think ahead to 2018, the question becomes how vulnerable U.S. securities markets are to waning QE and reduced central bank Credit expansion. Inflating a Bubble creates vulnerability to any slowdown in underlying Credit and attendant financial flows. And it’s the final parabolic speculative blow-off that seals a Bubble’s fate. It ensures market dependency to unusually large and inevitably unsustainable flows. The Fed’s latest Z.1 report does a nice job of illuminating the historic scope of the U.S. securities Bubble. U.S. securities markets have been on the receiving end of extraordinary international flows, while inflating securities and asset prices have spurred rapid financial sector expansion.

Note that in the two “% of GDP” charts today’s numbers are compared to the previous two bubble peaks when things had gotten so far out of hand that the following year saw massive financial crises. So the fact that we’ve blown through those two previous records portends interesting times ahead.

To sum up Noland’s analysis, the US, along with the rest of the world, has entered full Ponzi, where credit has to continue to rise at unprecedented rates to keep the system from imploding. But the more credit we take on, the more fragile the system becomes. A sudden decline in equities or bonds, geopolitical tensions escalating, cryptocurrencies threatening fiat currencies, you name it, can crack the façade of normality that rising asset prices create.

Please Help Support Our Church Security Team in Sutherland Springs, TX

Oath Keepers Security Volunteers on Duty Outside First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Texas

We still have Oath Keepers volunteers on the ground in Sutherland Springs, TX, helping provide security for the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs as they recover and rebuild after the horrendous mass shooting on November 5. A secondary mission for our team is to offer free security assessments to South Texas churches, and to offer free training for their security teams (helping them form a team if they have none, or helping them train the team they have).

Our men have been on the ground for the past week, at the invitation of the church pastors, and have done a superb job in helping to preserve the privacy and security of the church and its members as they go through the heart wrenching grieving, memorial, and healing process. And we will be part of the long term solution to help prevent this from happening again, which will also help to defend our gun rights by denying the enemies of the Second Amendment the victims they need to push their agenda.

We still need volunteers, per our CALL TO ACTION.

If you can’t volunteer, please help support those who can. You can DONATE to help us continue this vital mission.  

Not everyone can attend these events, but we could use your help with the ongoing expenses. Our unpaid volunteers need to be reimbursed for gas money spent on travel and food, and we have also spent money on airfare and a rental car to bring in one of our key team leaders, retired Washington D.C. Metro police officer and Army Ranger veteran, Brian Krogmann, who flew in from Arizona.

We appreciate all who have supported our recent disaster relief efforts in Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico, and we will do our best to not stretch our donors too thin. But the anti-gunners are doing all they can to use this tragedy, as well as the recent Las Vegas mass shooting, to further erode and destroy your right to bear arms. When the pastors of the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs reached out to us and asked us for help, we didn’t hesitate because it was the right thing to do. And by stepping up when called, we will also be part of the long term solution of increased security for churches, not just in Texas, but all across the nation. 

Because of this operation, we can now speak with direct knowledge of what happened there in Sutherland Springs since we have seen the aftermath with our own eyes, and we have spoken directly with the church members and their pastors. We have also had the honor to meet and speak at length with the man who put a stop to the killing, Stephen Willeford. And all of that will make a real difference as we counsel and advise churches across the nation on what they must do to prevent the same thing from happening to them – they must have robust armed security that is prepared for active shooter attacks like this.  

We all know that until churches go from being soft targets to being hard targets, terrorists and madmen will take advantage of that softness to work their evil. Oath Keepers is playing a direct, key part in making that necessary change, across this nation. Please donate to support this effort. 

DONATE

If you prefer to send a check, the mailing address is:

Oath Keepers
5130 S. Fort Apache Road, Ste. 215
Las Vegas, NV  89148

A donation of any amount will be greatly appreciated by our Oath Keepers on the ground in Sutherland Springs, TX and will help us in our mission to defend the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, including the Second Amendment, going forward.  

Thank you,

Oath Keepers

 

 

 

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First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Texas

By Andrea E.

Oath Keepers was requested by leaders of First Baptist Church to help with the tragedy. A small group of volunteer Oath Keepers are assessing the situation, assisting with security and beginning to formulate training plans to help church congregations protect themselves from this kind of attack in the future.

Some of our followers and members have asked what we are doing here and what we are guarding against. As expected, the media is out in full force. We are here to help ensure the victims’ families, congregation and the town are left to grieve in peace. We are here to help prevent a copy-cat incident. We are here to provide peace of mind that they are protected from any more acts of evil. Oath Keepers have also found themselves pressed into other duties including removing bullet riddled church pews, doors and a playground. We have been a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on for this small tightly knit community.

 

Oath Keepers on our security detail in Sutherland, Texas

 

The First Baptist Church was cleaned up and painted as a memorial to twenty six members of the congregation. Each chair represents a church member and where they were sitting on Sunday, November 5th. The memorial was opened to families at 5 PM on Sunday, November 12th. The memorial is scheduled to be open all week.

 

 

 

Photo credit: Andrea E.

When Oath Keepers participate in a mission like this one, they do so as volunteers.

If you can donate to help with travel expenses, etc, that would be greatly appreciated.

We currently have Oath Keepers in Sutherland Springs, Texas from several states, including Arizona, Montana, and Florida.

Please donate HERE. Thank you very much!

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Foreigners Bought A Record Amount Of Japanese Stocks, Just Before The Nikkei Snapped

There was something poetically ironic about last night"s 800+ point crash in the Nikkei...

... which was saved in the last minutes of trading by what was rumored to be the latest blatant BOJ intervention: it took place right after the month in which a record number of foreigners rushed into Japanese stocks, chasing the record momentum of the Nikkei and Topix.

 

According to the latest data from the Japanese MOF, in October foreigners made the largest investments ever in Japanese equities in October.

First, what did Japanese investors do? Having as recently as several months ago bought up record amounts of US Treasurys, this enthusiasm has long since vanished, and local investors were net sellers of foreign long-term bonds (-¥1.43 tn) for the second straight month. However, in each month of 2017 so far, Japanese investors have remained net buyers of foreign bonds (excluding banks whose monthly transactions are volatile and also dollar funded), although the pace slowed slightly at +¥727.7 bn, according to Goldman calculations. Trust banks" investment trust accounts (including pension funds), financial services providers, and life insurers were net buyers, at a stable +¥267.5 bn, +¥659.0 bn, and +¥420.4 bn respectively.

Japanese investors were also busy buying foreign stocks: they bought a net ¥1.0 tn of foreign equities in October, and have sustained their amount of net purchases at above ¥1 tn since May.

However, what is more notable is what foreigners were doing with Japanese assets this time, and as noted above, foreign investors were net buyers of Japanese equities in October (+¥3.43 tn), after being net sellers in Aug-Sep (-¥2.65 tn). This represented the largest investment in Japanese equities in a single month since the beginning of comparable statistics in 2005. It also explains the Nikkei"s unprecedented surge last month, in which the Japanese index had just one day in all of October.

Inward - outward security investments

Source: Goldman Sachs

Looking at net overall capital flows through portfolio investment in October, funds flowed in via inward security investment by ¥1.53 tn (with foreign investors net buyers of Japanese securities) and via outward security investment by ¥334.4 bn (with Japanese investors net sellers of foreign portfolios), making for an overall inflow of ¥1.86 tn (September: outflow of ¥2.43 tn).

Source: Goldman Sachs

The trick, for Abe whose investor-friendly election last month was the main catalyst for the influx of foreign money, is that just as foreign money comes easily chasing upward momentum, it can and will leave just as easily, and once said momentum is lost - and if there are any more surprises like last night"s mini crash - watch as all the transitory Nikkei gains from the past month are exposed to be just that.

Authorities Now Installing Cameras in School Bathrooms — A Predator’s Dream Come True

What could possibly go wrong? While some parents are speaking up, others are blindly accepting the horrifying reality of cameras in school bathrooms.

Under The Thumb Of The Banks

Editor"s Note:  

While we are disappointed to hear of Marc Faber"s recent comments and the fallout from them, Sprott Money is not affiliated with Sprott Inc. and have had no bearing in Mr. Faber"s resignation from the board. We are a private company held by Eric Sprott. Thanks. 

Written by Craig Hemke, Sprott Money News

The price of Comex Digital Gold continues to be held hostage by the major Bullion Banks which operate on the Comex in New York. Though some "improvement" in their collective position was noted in the latest bank Participation Report, it is very important to note that The Banks are still as heavily net short as they were at the price peak in the summer of 2016.

 

We wrote about this recent surge in Bank shorting last month and the article can be found here: https://www.tfmetalsreport.com/blog/8554/guard-aga...

 

In the article, we wrote that the 24 Bank short position in Comex gold had nearly doubled in just two months from 104,788 contracts net short to 213,746 contracts net short. The significance and speed of this rise rivaled what was observed in the first half of 2016 and we all know what followed in the second half of 2016. Namely, a smash in price that flushed the Spec longs back out of the Comex paper gold market and allowed these Banks to buy back and cover many of their short positions.

 

Specifically, the 24 Bank position, as divulged through the CFTC-generated Bank Participation Report, rose from just 45,259 contracts net short on 1/5/16 to a high of 195,262 contracts net short on 5/3/16. After falling back in June of 2016, this position again hit 191,834 contracts net short on 7/5/16.

 

From there, as price fell from $1375 to $1175, the 24 Bank position contracted back to just 73,722 contracts net short on 1/3/17.

 

As price rose again in 2017, The Banks resumed their profitable game of initiating Comex contracts on the sell side and taking the opposite position of hedge and trading fund speculators on the buy side. As price rose once more from $1175 to the early September peak near $1360, the 24 Bank position rose again to the aforementioned 213,746 net short.

 

Our concern in September was that all of this Bank shorting would soon lead to another fall in price and, unfortunately, we were proven correct as price fell to $1275 by the time the latest survey was taken on October 3. However, even though price fell by nearly $75 between report surveys, the latest Bank Participation Report showed that the total Bank position had only declined by about 30,000 with a new net short position of 182,197 contracts.

 

Therefore, there are several important items to note at this point:

 

1. As of October 3, the 24 Bank net position was nearly as heavily net short was it was at the price peak in July of 2016.

 

2. While doubling the size of their net short position on the $150 price rally of July and August, The Banks were only able to trim their position by 15% on the $75 pullback in September.

 

3. The Speculators have obviously held firm despite the recent pullback in price. They have not been quick to turn tail and run from Comex gold, choosing instead to remain steadfastly long.

So now the battle begins for the fourth quarter. Will price rise as emboldened Specs demand even greater long positions from the market-making Banks, forcing The Banks to retreat? Or will The Banks once again seize control of price and send it plunging down through the 100-day and 200-day moving averages, which in turn would finally lead to the Spec liquidation The Banks seek?

 

Since January, we have forecasted at TF Metals Report to expect the highest prices for calendar year 2017 to be seen during this fourth quarter. The only "fly in the ointment" of this forecast is this current historically large, Bank position. Can price move higher again even though The Banks are already net short 182,917 contracts for about 570 metric tonnes of paper gold?

 

We"re likely not going to have to wait long to find out.

 

 

Questions or comments about this article? Leave your thoughts HERE.

 

 

 

 

Written by Craig Hemke, Sprott Money News

 

 

Internet Conspiracy Theory Predicted Attacks on Vegas and the Police State Response—3 Weeks Ago

In America, after every crisis, government reacts by stripping freedoms and rights to provide an illusion of security. This methodology is nothing new and, in fact, stems from the work of a 19th Century German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, known as Hegelian dialectic.

Hegelian dialectic usually presents itself in a threefold manner—a thesis, giving rise to its reaction, an antithesis, which contradicts or negates the thesis, and the tension between the two being resolved by means of a synthesis. In more simplistic terms, one can consider it thus; problem → reaction → solution.

If we apply this philosophy to the Las Vegas shooting, the problem is that a crazy person murdered dozens of people allegedly using legally obtained firearms. The reaction is that people are scared and don’t want others to have guns and they want to feel safe. The solution, as presented by those exploiting this tragedy for personal and political gain, will be to increase the police state and attempt to disarm Americans.

Like a record spinning on a turntable, this scenario plays out over and over again in America—all while the citizens cheer on the creation of the police state. This cheering is bipartisan as the left cheers for the dismantling of the 2nd Amendment while the right cheers on the expansion of the police state and militarization of police.

Sadly, both sides perpetually forget the very wise warning that those who surrender personal liberty for perceived security—deserve neither freedom nor security.

Indeed this warning is so tried and true that many of those paying attention are able to make predictions based on how the government will react to real or staged events. And, one internet sleuth on 4chan made some incredibly ominous predictions on the Las Vegas shooting and how it will usher in a windfall for the police state.

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Disclaimer: We are not reporting what this user predicted as fact. We are only showing it because it serves to illustrate the motivation behind the problem, reaction, solution methodology of the state and their corporate partners.

Several weeks ago, on 9/11, a mysterious 4chan user who went only by “John” made a series of at the time overlooked posts. He warned users to stay away from any gatherings of large groups of people in the Vegas or nearby Henderson areas. Stating that he had insider knowledge of what he referred to as a “high incident project” that was set to occur soon.

The poster was ignored at the time since nothing seemed to occur on the 12^th. However, the fact that John wrote “I can’t guarantee anything will happen tomorrow but las vegas is on their minds,” seems almost frightening now that only weeks later this massive massacre took place.

While these predictions can easily be written off as a broken clock being right twice a day, the next prediction he made cannot.

As Squawker notes, he states this “project” will be done with an endgame goal of passing new laws in Nevada regarding casino security. Making pricey new security screening machines mandatory for all guests. With even further more ambitious plans to follow suit in our schools and other public buildings if the public goes along with the casino machines easily enough.

He also specifically names former head of the Department of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff and Casino owner and billionaire Sheldon Adelson as the two men set to profit most off the wave of new regulations set to spring up in response to the Vegas incident. It’s not all that unreasonable even to believe that Mr. Chertoff might seek to profit from a new security panic in the wake of Vegas. Given that the man has already been accused of abusing the public trust by raising security fears among average American’s in an attempt to sell his companies body scanners before, all the way back in 2010.

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Indeed, OSI, the company mentioned in the prediction, is already seeing record profits. On Thursday, OSI stocks reached record highs and have never seen a higher level other than immediately following the horrific attacks in Paris in November 2015. Beginning to see how this works?

• Problem: Insane criminals with guns


• Reaction: “Take our guns! Keep us safe!”


• Solution: Foster the corporate police state at the expense of personal liberty.

OSI Systems, Inc reached a near all-time high Thursday morning at $93.57

Now, the “solution” of a police state, as predicted by ‘John’ on 4chan, is being rolled out. “Nevada will pass a law in the future making all casinos have mandatory metal detectors and backscatter machines,” he predicted. However, no law was needed.

As Bloomberg reports, customers waited nearly ten minutes before entering the Wynn resort in Las Vegas on Monday afternoon as guards scanned visitors with metal-detector wands and inspected their bags, creating a 10-minute wait to get inside. The new security protocol, put in place after Sunday’s mass shooting nearby, is likely to become the norm in Vegas, and possibly beyond.

Casinos and entertainment venues are going to have to take a more holistic approach to security, thinking about rooftops and other potential shooting – considering the possibilities for an attack from all angles, said David Shepherd, a former FBI special agent in counterterrorism who later was the security director for Las Vegas Sands Corp.’s Venetian resort.

“We have to start thinking like the Secret Service – start looking at tall buildings,” said Shepherd, who co-authored a book called “Active Shooter.” “How far do we have to take it?”

Metal detectors and door checks will likely become standard operating procedure at most of the city’s hotels and casinos, one executive told Bloomberg.

One executive at another casino operator, who asked not to be identified because security matters are sensitive, said the Wynn’s security check at the door is probably the industry’s future because there’s no other way to screen for people carrying weapons.

While this may seem fine on the surface, the reality is that no amount of police state measures can ever prevent a deranged lunatic from killing people. Short of locking everyone in a maximum security prison, there will always be this looming—albeit extremely rare—threat.

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To see how ineffective and brutal further massive police state expansion will be, we need only look at the TSA which came into existence as the state’s problem, reaction, solution to 9/11.

The TSA is, without a doubt, one of America’s most corrupt, incompetent, and freedom stomping agencies whose ostensible job is fighting terrorism. Earlier this year, they became apparently so unsatisfied with the mere ability to strip search babies, remove colostomy bags, beat up blind cancer patients, and fondle your genitalia, that they announced a more invasive physical pat-downs. The pat-downs, which TSA warned would probably prompt assault complaints, are now happening. 

The TSA has never stopped a terror attack and is unable to stop 95 percent of the tests against its tactics, yet it gropes and molests children and adults alike — who unquestioningly accept it. Americans are being conditioned for a total police state and they have no idea.

The problem, reaction, solution paradigm is not in the interest of freedom and only serves to enrich those who profit from tragedy and the usurpation of rights.

Please share this article with your friends and family to show them how dangerous trading freedom for security can be.

Ex-CIA Head Proposed Law That Would Make Reading Leaked Material A Crime

By Emma Best of Muckrock

     "We’ll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false.”

     - William Casey, 13th CIA Director   

Just months before the government’s first successful use of the Espionage Act against someone for leaking to the media, a declassified report written by then-CIA Director William Casey argued that just such an act would be irresponsible.

In the formerly SECRET paper, the Director stated that using the Espionage Act against media leakers was like “driving tacks with a sledge hammer” - grossly excessive. Months later, the government did just that, setting a precedent which is still used today. Two years later, Reagan’s war against leakers had pushed Casey into the even more aggressive position of threatening not just leakers with prosecution - but the Washington Post, the Washington Times, the New York Times, Time and Newsweek as well.

Far from minimizing the potential harm of national security leaks, Casey emphasized the damage that they could do. However, none of the five examples provided by Casey in his report resulted in any actual harm. Two examples “could have” resulted in adversary adjusting their techniques, though the language implies that hadn’t happened. A third and fourth example resulted in potential damage which forced the Agency to cut off contact with a human source lest that danger be amplified. While endangering human sources is never a good thing and disrupting HUMINT operations was unlikely to have been the intention, the report again indicates that no actual harm came to anyone. A fifth example placed someone in danger of being discovered, again a possibility which hadn’t come to pass, though it “could possibly have an adverse effect on U.S. relations” with an unknown group.

Casey took the time to point out that aside from a lack of discipline and professionalism, some leakers had specific motives, such as pushing a particular program or policy over another one.

Far from painting the media as the enemies of the public, Casey acknowledged that they were conflicted between their duties. Nevertheless, he conceded that it’s the job of the media to inform the public.

This concession didn’t stop him from also arguing that journalists be prosecuted and held in contempt if they refused to divulge their sources.

Casey also cited a legal argument that journalists do not have any legal protections for privileged communications, unlike doctors, lawyers and members of the clergy. As a result, they felt that a journalist could be “brought before a grand jury, given immunity from prosecution and can be compelled to identify the source of classified information.” However, care would need to be taken “to avoid making a journalist [into] a martyr.” To this end, a daily fine should be levied against the publisher until the questions were answered, rather than the journalist themself, which Casey felt was “legally feasible.” Casey also proposed a special prosecutor, an idea which was being explored by CIA elsewhere.

Curiously, Casey felt that this would not be “directed at the media, but at requiring the cleared government employee or contractor to live up to [their obligations].” How a measure that would directly fine publishers would impact the leaker would remain entirely unaffected, Casey failed to explain.

Casey also proposed legislation that would make the mere unauthorized possession of classified material a crime. At the time, this would put at risk anyone reading a New York Times article that reprinted classified material. Today, it would put anyone reading The Intercept or WikiLeaks at risk of potential prosecution, to say nothing of those involved in the outlets’ administration or distribution.

Despite his desire to see new legislation created that would specifically target media leaks (an all around better solution than bending preexisting laws to fill a role unintended by Congress), Casey argued against using the Espionage Act to prosecute leakers. Unlike specifically tailored and debated legislation, using the Espionage Act to target media leakers was excessive the same way that “driving tacks with a sledge hammer” was.

Ideally, Casey felt that the new law should not require they demonstrate that a leak caused any actual damage to the United States. Instead, the question should be whether or not the information was passed to someone not authorized to receive it.

Despite his desire to see the media prosecuted for their role in publishing leaks, Casey was not of the opinion that journalists are less patriotic than other Americans, though he added that “a few are less responsible than they should be.”

A memo to CIA’s General Counsel from the Chairman of the CIA Director’s Security Committee, written just months before Casey’s report, argued explicitly that while a “narrow legal standpoint” could potentially justify prosecuting media leakers under the Espionage Act, specific legislation was needed to properly deal with the problem.

Another memo written a few months before for the Director of the Intelligence Community Staff flatly stated that “no matter how one views it, this is a different crime from espionage.” It adds that “we should not drive tacks with a sledge hammer.”

Nevertheless, it would not be long before the Intelligence Community was doing just that.

Despite the misgivings in Casey’s edited paper about using the Espionage Act to target leakers, along with those expressed in the memo to CIA’s General Counsel, it was only a few months later that the government did just that by targeting Samuel Morison. This successful prosecution turned into a precedent used for decades, resulting in what Senator Moynihan called an “erratic application” the Espionage Act, which has since been used to target leakers and whistleblowers alike - and used to threaten media publishers themselves. To date, however, no such legislative solution has been passed. Instead, Reality Winner is charged under the Espionage Act for leaking a document to The Intercept.

You can read Casey’s full report on Unauthorized Disclosures to the Media below.

Call to Action: Volunteers Needed to Protect Houston Disaster Relief Center and Relief Workers

Donate

Protective Escorts for Medical Teams and Relief

In addition, we have been running escort missions for field medical teams from 

Global Outreach Doctors, Dr. Alison Thompson of Third Wave Volunteers, and Mobile Medics International (all outstanding and heroic lifesavers), relief supply convoys, and for truckers on the road when requested.

We will continue to run those missions if we have sufficient manpower, but by necessity, our protection of the relief center must take priority for now (at least for the next few weeks).

We will rotate people in and out, so if you can only come down for a couple of days, that is fine.   We need all the help we can get.

SKILLSETS NEEDED:

We are looking for men with relevant military, police, or security training, such as:

Current serving or retired law enforcement.    We have a crucial need for police officers to act as liaisons to local and federal LEO’s and also because of their many other skillsets which translate directly to nearly everything we are doing here.

Current serving or veteran military, especially infantry or other combat arms, military police, or others with Personal Security Detail, force protection or site security training and experience.

Experienced armed security professionals.    Must be trained, safe, and competent with your weapon and equipment.  And must have a solid understanding of the lawful use of force and the force continuum.

Above all, we want only cool, calm, steady men who will keep a cool head under pressure, and will interact well with many volunteers coming and going – quiet professionals.   You WILL be vetted.  If you have a CHL, please bring it.  Please bring a copy of any training certs you have, or any other pertinent proof of training or status, if at all possible.  Please make it easy for us to vett you and get you assigned to a team.   If you are an Oath Keepers member, please bring your membership card if you have it.   You DO NOT have to be a member to volunteer.  We will take all qualified personnel.  Please see the contact info below.

We can also still use:

Emergency medical personnel:   EMTs, military medics and corpsmen, civilian paramedics, nurses, etc.   However, please understand that our primary mission here at the warehouse is a fixed position defense/protection operation.   If we have enough people, we may be able to send some out on relief missions to affected areas, but please don’t count on that.   You would be needed to support and care for our people, and be prepared to deal with trauma just in case, and also to do some medical checks and first aid on disaster victims if you go out on a mission to affected areas (as our medics .  Please bring whatever gear you have that you would need to work that mission.

Communications experts (HAM General class or above preferred, but a technical class HAM is also useful).    Please bring extra radios if you have them.

TO VOLUNTEER CALL:

 346-237-7527

Or email:   la@oathkeepers.org

Any questions, please call or email.

We have been blessed with the honor of protecting and assisting some outstanding first-responders, including directly assisting local volunteer fire-fighters, search and rescue, police officers, sheriff deputies, and also National Guard units from multiple states including Texas and Louisiana (we actually helped protect unarmed National Guard and fire-fighters), and protecting the incredible volunteer medical teams mentioned above, as well as helping the devastated, tired, and wet Texans who live here.  It has been a privilege and an honor to do so, and we intend on being on call and ready to respond whenever they need us, as well as protecting this new relief supply center in Houston.  This is square on with our Community Preparedness Team (CPT) concept –  Americans coming together, lending a hand, is what it is all about.   We would hate to turn them down because we didn’t have enough men.

Robert Erwin, Vice President of R2 Corporation, is a great American patriot in the truest sense of that word – a man who loves his country and loves all of his fellow Americans regardless of their politics, and he deserves all our thanks and respect for providing this massive warehouse for relief operations.   And the many volunteers here also deserve our thanks, and they deserve our protection.  Please step up and help keep them all safe.   We are stretched thin, so please come out if you can.  Many hands make light work.

And again, if you can’t make it in person, please consider making a donation to help support those who can.

Central Bank Balance Sheets Are About to Hit $20 Trillion

We just hit a new record high.

No, I’m not talking about the stock market. I’m talking about Central Bank balance sheets. While everyone is talking about the Federal Reserve’s proposal to shrink its balance sheet, globally other banks have been cranking up the printing presses.

As a result of this, the G-4 Central Banks balance sheets (Japan, the US, the ECB, and the UK) are closing in on an astounding $20 trillion.

H/T Dimit.

This is truly astonishing. And what’s worse is that we’re only going up from here. When the next Crisis hits, Central Banks will unveil truly NUCLEAR levels of QE and money printing.

Gold has already figured this out, having broken out of a massive triangle pattern. Gold knows that Central Banks have rigged the market and will never fully walk away from the bubble rig. No matter what happens the printing presses will keep making currency confetti.

If you’re not taking steps to actively profit from this, it’s time to get a move on.

We just published a Special Investment Report concerning a secret back-door play on Gold that gives you access to 25 million ounces of Gold that the market is currently valuing at just $273 per ounce.

The report is titled The Gold Mountain: How to Buy Gold at $273 Per Ounce

We are giving away just 100 copies for FREE to the public.

As I write this, there are 39 left.

To pick up yours, swing by:

https://www.phoenixcapitalmarketing.com/goldmountain.html

Best Regards

Graham Summers

Chief Market Strategist

Phoenix Capital Research

CALL TO ACTION: Volunteers needed for security – Houston relief distribution center

Video CALL TO ACTION, volunteers needed to protect a hurricane relief warehouse distribution center in Houston. In the video are Stewart Rhodes, Founder and President of Oath Keepers and Tank from Uncle Sam’s Misguided Children.

The address for the new distribution center: 101 Esplanade Blvd. Ste. 400, Houston, TX 77060

The contact email (before you come): la@oathkeepers.org

There will be another post soon with more information.

Video CALL TO ACTION, volunteers needed to protect a hurricane relief warehouse distribution center in Houston.The address for the new distribution center: 101 Esplanade Blvd. Ste. 400, Houston, TX 77060The contact email (before you come): la@oathkeepers.orgIf you cannot come in person to assist, please visit the link below to donate.https://www.oathkeepers.org/product/texas-hurricane-relief/

Posted by Oath Keepers on Tuesday, September 5, 2017

If you cannot come in person to assist, please visit the link below to donate.

https://www.oathkeepers.org/product/texas-hurricane-relief/

If you would prefer to mail a check, our mailing address is:

Oath Keepers

5130 S. Fort Apache Rd.

Suite 215

Las Vegas, NV   89148

Oath Keepers providing security for Patriot Express relief supplies

OATH KEEPERS:
ORDERS WE WILL NOT OBEY

Click here to read full length version.

1. We will NOT obey orders to disarm the American people.


2. We will NOT obey orders to conduct warrantless searches of the American people
.

3. We will NOT obey orders to detain American citizens as “unlawful enemy combatants” or to subject them to military tribunal.


4. We will NOT obey orders to impose martial law or a “state of emergency” on a state.


5. We will NOT obey orders to invade and subjugate any state that asserts its sovereignty.


6. We will NOT obey any order to blockade American cities, thus turning them into giant concentration camps.


7. We will NOT obey any order to force American citizens into any form of detention camps under any pretext.


8. We will NOT obey orders to assist or support the use of any foreign troops on U.S. soil against the American people to “keep the peace” or to “maintain control."


9. We will NOT obey any orders to confiscate the property of the American people, including food and other essential supplies.


10. We will NOT obey any orders which infringe on the right of the people to free speech, to peaceably assemble, and to petition their government for a redress of grievances.

Click here to read full length version.

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