Poor
Man Survival
Self
Reliance tools for independent minded people…
ISSN
2161-5543
A Digest of Urban Survival Resources
"The
most unresolved problem of the day is precisely
the problem that concerned the founders of this nation:
how to limit the scope and power of government.
Tyranny, restrictions on human freedom,
come primarily from governmental restrictions
that we ourselves have set up."
-- Milton Friedman
the problem that concerned the founders of this nation:
how to limit the scope and power of government.
Tyranny, restrictions on human freedom,
come primarily from governmental restrictions
that we ourselves have set up."
-- Milton Friedman
THE USA - LAND OF THE FREE
Taking control of your own life is the most fundamental freedom you truly have.
The is a heartbreaking story of a man who spent more than a decade running L&M Convenience Mart, a gas station, restaurant, and convenience store in rural Fairmont, North Carolina. Then, one year ago, without any warning, agents from the IRS seized his entire bank account, which was his entire life savings, totaling more than $107,000.
The reason? They said he had been depositing money in small amounts (as a convenience store just might do) under the amount that would trigger a reporting requirement for the last decade.
That's all they needed. No charges, no arrest. They just deemed that he had been depositing small amounts of money into the bank for years and that was reason enough to impoverish him.
The US government has stolen billions from Americans in just this way.
RFID Chips
The Government’s Preferred Hidden Tracking Device
A pocket like that may have many other practical uses today than just protecting you from warrantless cell phone tracking.
Radio Frequency ID (RFID) chips are used primarily in commerce to track inventory. Applied in this respect, this technology is actually very efficient. According to the RFID Journal (an industry trade magazine) “Radio frequency identification is the next wave in the evolution of computing. Essentially, it’s a technology that connects objects to the Internet, so they can be tracked.”
The problem: RFID technology is popping up on the items we carry on our own physical bodies. These items are all being impregnated with privacy-sabotaging Radio Frequency ID (RFID) tracking chips.
- Passports
- Driver’s licenses
- Credit cards
- Sadly, even your child’s school ID
RFID chips send out radio signals that contain all the pertinent information on the credit card, driver's license, or passport, etc. The “readers” for these chips are essentially antennas that are tuned in to read their radio signals.
Unfortunately, this also makes theft fast and easy. Demonstrations by security experts have shown how a pickpocket can hide a touch less credit-card reader (bought cheaply online and connected to a small net book computer or smart phone) inside a handheld organizer, and easily “steal” private information - right through a victim’s purse or pants pocket!
RFID chips can be read between 30 to 300 feet away (even from inside a moving car in some cases), depending on the kind of chip.
- In some instances, information on an RFID chip can be changed by the reader itself. In one study, researchers rigged RFID readers to write over and change information stored on an RFID chip. This experiment proved that someone with bad intentions could conceivably corrupt the information on your driver’s license or passport - and that could cause you untold grief with the authorities if you’re trying to cross the border and your passport has been compromised, for example.
- Regarding RFID-equipped passports, each country’s passport sends out its own unique radio signal. This could pose an additional security threat while you’re traveling if you happen to carry a non-politically correct passport – even if it’s safely stored in your luggage or jacket pocket.
What Can You Do About It?
One individual demonstrated how he destroyed the RFID chip in his new credit card by hammering a small nail through it. He reasoned the magnetic strip still worked, and he didn’t need or want his credit card broadcasting his information. (You could go this route, but it’s probably not advisable with your government-issued RFID documents, because it could come with a penalty.)
Your other options are to wrap the document in a metal, like aluminum foil, or buy a protective sleeve or stylish wallet designed to block the radio signals from the RFID chip. In fact, the State Department actually recommends doing this with your passport.
In theory, you may be able to achieve the same result with a simple object that’s already in the glove boxes of millions of motorists who use EZ-Pass or other transponder-based automatic highway toll collection devices. Users typically receive a metallic no-transmit pouch to store their transponder in should they wish to shield their device at toll booths (for example, if there’s no money in their pre-paid toll account). I haven’t tested it, but in theory this same pouch should be able to effectively shield your phone, too.
Since we’re hosting our annual community garage sale
today, I thought this post appropriate…
Video:
Yard Sale Shopping Tips
A great yard sale is a bargain bonanza, an auction and a treasure hunt all rolled into one. This week, The Ultimate Cheapskate teaches us how to be a pro yard sale shopper and get the very best deals for the biggest savings!
A great yard sale is a bargain bonanza, an auction and a treasure hunt all rolled into one. This week, The Ultimate Cheapskate teaches us how to be a pro yard sale shopper and get the very best deals for the biggest savings!
Get rid of old clothes, get paid, and maybe get a
whole new wardrobe in the process. We show you how. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2483574,00.asp?mailing_id=1243443&mailing=whatsnewnow&mailingID=77EA2FFFDDA75684B6F0D7AAFE84DF57
How to Keep Foods Safe During a Power Outage
Use these steps to keep refrigerated and frozen foods safe during a
power outage:
Finally, I want to let you know about the Noah Foundation…it works hard
to press legislatures and utilities to avert EMP disasters by hardening the grid BEFORE disaster strikes. Learn more about their work at:
The NoahFoundations.com
Yours for better living,
Bruce ‘the Poor Man’
Books, Art, Video – the saucy, the odd, the retro,
even the practical…
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