Saturday, October 23, 2010

Miscellaneous posts

Pirates of Costa Rica? From the folks at Eaglespeak, an update on the latest incidents off Costa Rica.

The Falcon Lake Murder and Mexico's Drug Wars The good people at Stratfor have done a piece on the changing drug cartels in Mexico.


And, in keeping with the Central/South American theme today, here is one concerning Venezuela, from Noonsite.

And finally, please keep the Chandlers in your thoughts and prayers. The Chandlers Mark a Year in Captivity

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Situational Awareness, Weapons Onboard and GOST News

A nice post on Situational Awareness from Secrets Of Urban Survival. I especially like the part of starting slow, small steps and building from there.

In the Nov/Dec 2010 issue of Latitudes and Attitudes, there is an article that talks of the issue of weapons for cruising sailors. As the author points out (and so do we here) - it is a highly personal decision. One best made by rational investigation of the risks involved.


And from GOST (formerly Paradox Marine)- be sure to visit them at the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show coming up soon. They have a great line of products to help protect you and your vessel.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Inside look at a Taser

Here's a nice look at a just fired Taser.

Note the 'afid's produced. This stands for "anti-felon identification" or "AFID" system. This enables the Taser to disperse confetti with serial numbers when it is fired and links the specific Taser to the scene where it is used.

Care to purchase one (or two or a dozen)? Head on over to our personal security products website. They make a great stocking stuffer.

Courtesy of wired.com

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Noonsite

To all readers of the blog - be sure to visit Noonsite - for plenty of news concerning cruising throughout the world. Not just security news, but plenty of other information on marinas, health issues, customs and more. They also have this nice page on Self Defense.

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Preparedness is always personal!


From Spike's Place:

Courtesy of Mr. Farnam

29 Sept 10

Important Lesson:

A friend was close to the active shooter/suicide incident at the University of Texas library in Austin, TX yesterday.

She was in her supervisor's office, several doors down from her own. They were discussing an unrelated issued when shots were heard. Seconds later, a police officer showed up at the door and announced that the building was
being evacuated, immediately!

My friend had left her purse in her own office, and there was no opportunity to retrieve it.

Moment later, she found herself in the parking lot, without car-keys, call-phone, and wallet, which meant she had no cash, credit cards, transportation, nor identification. She could not drive anywhere, nor could she call anyone, even on someone's else's cell-phone, as she didn't have important phone numbers memorized!

She lived through it, but she had several long, helpless moments, and she told me that she would never again allow herself to be separated from important items.

Preparedness is always personal!

Emergencies tend to be come-as-you-are affairs, and there is seldom time, nor opportunity, to "get ready."

You're ready or you're not. Either way, nobody cares

...except you!

Comment: As always, great advice from Mr. Farnam. We are each responsible for ourselves and our loved ones. Use the information resources available to you (such as this great blog) and get some training to put the theory into practice.

As my friend Mr. Keating says - Be Trained or Be Chained.