Kidnapping is a booming business all around the world.

Despite what most people think, kidnapping does not just happen in war-torn lands, in Third World countries or in those slums on the wrong side of town.

Kidnappers can strike anywhere, in any town, in any city or in any country.

You could be snatched off the street, out of your car, at your hotel, at an airport, and even inside your home. It will happen fast, and when it does, you likely will be wrestling with a number of emotions including terror.

Fear can be a paralyzing emotion, preventing you from reacting to the situation. Having the right mind-set is vital to your ability to avoid, survive or escape the kidnappers.

In the first 60 seconds of an attack, you must adopt a “kill or be killed” mind-set to survive and to escape. And for most law-abiding citizens, that’s more difficult than they might believe.

The problem is that most people associate their survival in these circumstances with “self-defense.” Self-defense is a commercially marketable term. It sounds so morally acceptable. 

 But to fight off the unthinkable, they will need to trade the civilized self-defense mind-set for the raw, ruthlessness of a trapped animal.

Remember, fear can paralyze you and prevent you from reacting. Fear of pain. Fear of never seeing your family again. Fear that if you fight back, you will be injured or killed.

The reality is you must turn your fears into your greatest strength. You must channel your fears beyond righteous anger into simon-pure, homicidal hate. Then you must use those emotions to fuel a savage counterattack on your kidnappers.

However, exercising a survival mentality does require some specific training. And the execution of such tactics and techniques must fit the circumstances. You must consider your options as the attack unfolds, and hopefully you will have planned and prepared in advance for the same.

Training is the key to survival, especially in a situation where your life depends upon your escaping. The fact is, if you don’t have any training, then you greatly reduce your chances of survival.

If you can’t summon a “kill or be killed”mind-set, if you haven’t learned the proper combat techniques, and if you haven’t practiced these techniques until they are second nature, then it would be best to comply with the kidnappers and hope for a negotiation or possible rescue.

In a great number of kidnappings, your best chance of survival will be to comply and cooperate — especially if you’re outnumbered or your attackers have weapons. And once you’ve been captured, you should be patient because hostage negotiations are usually difficult and lengthy.

If time doesn’t bring about a successful resolution or you get that “gut”feeling that your captors are not going to release you or worse, they plan to kill you, then you must focus all your efforts on escaping.

Of Course, The Best Option Is to Do Everything You Can to Prevent the Kidnapping Before It Happens …

1. Become a hard target.

2. Identify potential threats.

3. Understand travel vulnerabilities. Wherever you go, you need to understand the dress, customs, politics, and potential threats.

4. Avoid choke points. Whether you’re in a vehicle or on foot, you never want to trap yourself. Always try to have a way out — even if it’s shall we say “unconventional.”

5. Analyze your routes so you can identify the likely places where you might be abducted.

6. Learn the principles of surveillance detection

7. Maintain situational awareness at all times

8. Train and rehearse offensive and defensive tactics

Here are some critical things you can do to prevent a kidnapping:

Pre-plan Your Activities

This is the same advice I give my clients. Pre-planning your activities before departing — whether for vacation, business or just around town — is smart and leaves less to chance.

Plan your routes to avoid areas with a reputation for crime. Avoid routes where the traffic is too heavy, which can leave you blocked in, or too light, which can leave you all alone like a sitting duck.

When at home, always plan to vary your routes to places you go routinely, like work, school, and the grocery store.

When going on vacation or business travel, choose a hotel that is reputable. This doesn’t mean checking into a Marriott or a Hilton. Such higher-profile establishments may have higher safety standards. However, they are also more likely to be targeted by kidnappers because of the tony clientele they attract. Balance your personal security with comfort when choosing a place to stay. And do your due diligence in advance by asking those in the know!

Pre-Position Key Survival and Escape Elements

Another very critical piece of advice I give my clients is to carry key items that could aid in either their escape or survival. These items should be spread out in various hiding places on your body.

With the right technique, you can use a length of paracord to saw through rope or plastic zip-ties. And if you need a garrote, either paracord or dental floss will do.

You can use paper clips or bobby pins to pick handcuffs of padlocks. You can use metal combs as weapons or tools. You can use a mirror to signal for help or break it into makeshift blades. If you use your imagination, I’m sure you can think of other MacGyver-style tools or weapons.

Kidnapping is a huge, multi-national business that is growing every day.

Plan for a Worst-Case Scenario

Nobody wants to think of bad things happening to them, family members or employees. But the reality is that kidnapping is a huge, multi-national business that is growing every day.

In order for you to be effective in your efforts to prevent or escape from this very dangerous crime, you must plan for the worst. And in your planning, you need to educate yourself on the various aspects of kidnappings that are perpetrated here in the United States and abroad.

In years past, we used to see a lot of kidnap-for-ransom and extortion-type cases and although there is still plenty of that worldwide, there is a definitive paradigm shift in recent years towards a variety of kidnap typologies including kidnap-2-kill.

Be Invisible

Another very important piece of advice I give my clients is to “be invisible,” meaning blend in to whatever environment you are in. You never want to stick out.

For example, I would not wear normal business attire appropriate for a meeting in New York City when I have a meeting in Belize. That means no designer clothes or flashy watches or jewelry items. Even when you arrive at the airport, your pre-departure dress should already be consistent with your arrival destination.

Starting now, make yourself a harder target by following these precautions to help prevent or survive a kidnapping. And remember that “failing to plan is planning to fail.”

Until next time, stay alert, check your six, put your back against the wall and stay safe!

Jeff Cantor

…..to vote on electoral reform says Justin Trudeau. Its too complex. Begs the question then, why aren’t we teaching the key issues facing Canada in school? So those complex issues can be understood by those who really have the responsiblity to vote in a democracy….

Another Reason Canada’s Rotten: Overwhelming Regulations That Strangle Normal Folks

Big things have slowly been unfolding that will be not only life changing but will change the entire financial situation of the world. The good news is that there are many ways to profit and prosper from these events. A few simple and well timed positions can yield huge results for the savvy trader and investor – Chris Vermulen 

Is This the End of the Road?

In May of 2008, there was a very similar stock market ‘rally’ as compared to todays’ ‘rally’. Investors believed that the ‘turmoil’ during the latter part of 2007 and the early part of 2008 was permanently over and that we were headed towards a strong economic growth!

In actuality, it merely masked the ‘declining economic collapse’. The same situation is happening, all over again, even as you are reading this article. There are numerous flashing red lights, currently while the stock markets is ‘collapsing’ once again, just as it did during the beginning of the spring of 2008!

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There have now been four consecutive quarters in which corporate earnings have declined. The profits from the SPX were down over 7.1 percent during the first quarter of this year.

The U.S. markets have now entered the next phase – a stock market downturn. The global financial system is now starting to ‘unravel’ which will have far reaching implications!

In fact, the real truth of the matter, is now about to worsen, from this point of time and onwards!

While this country has 100 million American people, who are unemployed and searching for work, and yet are unable to find any, I say this is a major RED WARNING ALERT that must now need be heard loud and clearly!

According to the FED, forty-seven percent of all Americans are not able to come up with $400.00 in case of an actual emergency situation, that they may incur. They would either need to sell personal belongings or borrow the money, somehow!

The majority of Americans are now living from paycheck to paycheck

In December of 2015, when the FED raised their interest rates, for the first time, in almost a decade, they had projected a one percent ‘hike’ in 2016. I was apprehensive of their prediction and had forecasted that the FED would not “materially” hike rates!

The FED later backtracked their estimates to half of a percentage point ‘hike’, in 2016 during their March meeting.

The chances of a June 2016 ‘hike’ are low to nil as the “Brexit” referendum is being held only one week after that FED meeting. If the U.K. votes for a “Brexit” from the European Union, then the financial implications may wreak havoc on the already fragile global economies. Hence, the FED will not chance raising it especially before such a significant and important event.

Similarly, post July 2016, the U.S. Presidential race will ‘heat up’ and the FED will not want to raise interest rates prior to knowing what the next Presidents’ ‘economic policy’ will be. However, if the world economy falters, the FED will have to follow the other Central Banks and ‘restart’ QE.

The timing of a stock market ‘crash’ is presently within our reach. All signs are pointing towards a higher price for gold; both in the near-term and the long-term. Enforced negative interest rates which are more of the FEDs’ Quantitative Easing (QE) and the race to devalue the U.S. dollar. This proves to be quite bullish for gold. The timing of all of these concurrent events are affecting the gold market!

The rise of the stock market is widely viewed today as the result of ‘Quantitative Easing'(QE). A bandage was placed on that financial crisis which was never structurally repaired. Today, I believe that investors have long since given up on the FEDs’ bond buying as a means of repairing the economy. There is so much skepticism, at this point, as to what direction the equity-market is trending – Up or Down?

SP500 Weekly Chart

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The response from the FED was to ‘debase’ the U.S. dollar as reflected in its’ decline of 4.7% thus far in 2016. Treasury bond yields have dropped well below 2%. Something has truly gone horribly wrong within the economy! However, the FED is trying to put up a brave front. They have asserted that they are considering a ‘hike’ in their June 2016 meeting, but this is very misleading as there will be no “material” short-term interest rate hike in my opinion.

Monthly US Dollar Index:

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Weekly SP500 Stock Index

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Daily Gold Chart

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These problems that exist within all of these markets are that of the global Central Banks, which are sending their mixed messages. They are actually driving the dollar higher for the time being.

Two weeks ago, the Bank of Japan did not provide more monetary accommodation, as was expected, at that time; whereas last week, BOJ announced they would do so. Therefore, the dollar rose up whereas other currencies, including the Euro and the Yen, fell rather hard. This reaction resulted in both metals and stocks going down.

The three Central Banks have now reversed their prior announcements regarding monetary policy, within the last month. First, the ECB and then the FED and now the BOJ.

The FED is currently working on a different scenario in which they are stress testing negative Treasury bills. This scenario, in which the interest rate on the three-month U.S. Treasury bill becomes negative, in the second quarter of 2016 and then declines to -0.5% remaining at that level until the first quarter of 2019.

The Fed stated, “The severely adverse scenario is characterized by a severe global recession, accompanied by a period of heightened corporate financial stress and negative yields for short-term U.S. Treasury securities.” (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-02/rates-less-than-zero-is-bank-stress-fed-wants-to-test-in-2016)

Gold prices are surging this year and that has ‘the smart money’ flocking towards the yellow metal.

During this global contraction, it is only a matter of a very short period of time before the stock market reflects this reality.

Truly, this is the beginning of ‘The Great Reset’!

Conclusion:

In short, big things have slowly been unfolding that will be not only life changing but will change the entire financial situation of the world.

The good news is that there are many ways to profit and prosper from these events. A few simple and well time positions can yield huge results for the savvy trader and investor.

Currently, a ‘sharp fall’ is now anticipated within the equity markets! This decline will be accompanied with ‘new volatility’. There is a great deal of ‘uncertainty ‘within the U.S. markets. Currently, we are viewing a ‘textbook’ ‘head and shoulders pattern’ in the SPX and is going to be a big inflection point we look back on months from now.

There are less and less stocks that are participating in the recent move upwards which suggest a technical breakdown is likely to happen.

The ‘cycles’ of the SPX have recently confirmed that we have now witnessed the ‘highs’. The ‘top’ is currently in place and I expect that the ‘negative trend’ will continue to persist.

See my live analysis charts and forecast click here

The ‘smart money’ has been exiting the equity markets during the last few weeks with strong waves of selling volume taking place on a consistent basis.

Yesterday morning, Monday, May 16th, 2016, I alerted my subscribers to two new positions to enter into so as to take advantage of during this next significant market move and change in volatility.

Consequently, consumers have already started to slow down in their spending. They will change their past behavior, and, as a result, will begin to save (whatever funds that they may still have) as stocks start to fall in value along with the average investors retirement accounts. The present day spending behavior will come to a grinding halt in due time!

Before “The Great Credit Crisis of 2007-2008”, the ‘smart money’ exited the equity markets in November of 2006. And it appears that the NDX-100 and the Russel 2000 are leading the ‘charge’ downward once again for the pending market correction.

We are, once again, repeating this same technical pattern, now!

Concluding Thoughts:

In short, the first chart I showed in this article paints a very clear picture of where stock prices are headed – Lower.

Large cap stocks over the past year have been making lower lows and lower highs. The most novice of traders knows what that means… It means, we are in a down trend.

There are many ways to take advantage of what is about to unfold next, but how you play it really depends on how much money you have to play with and the level of risk tolerance you have.

Also: Rick Rule Warns Of U.S. Dollar Troubles And Says The Gold Bull Is Headed Much Higher

I share a few ways I am taking advantage of this with followers of my newsletter at: www.TheGoldAndOilGuy.com

Smart money is the first and fastest to flee markets in adverse conditions. It’s pulling out from the equity market in general & the increased capital flows heading to safe places suggest a risk-off sentiment taking hold. 

We expect continued flight to safety in 2016.

….read more HERE

related:

The Top 10 Key Thoughts To Remember During Corrections