Monthly Archives: January 2015

When It Is Time To Leave Your Home, What To Bring, and Where To Meet

In a recent meeting of a Christian-based preparedness group, the following bylaws were distributed for consideration to the adult members of the group. I hope there are some take home items here that will help other individuals or groups when they are in the midst of considering this most difficult decision:

If things get bad, there may be a day when you have to leave your home and evacuate to a safer location. These circumstances might include:

  • Regional, large-scale, natural disasters, such as an earthquake, tornado, flood, or fire,
  • Civil unrest caused by grid down or large-scale economic collapse,
  • Nuclear or hazmat disaster,
  • Pandemic outbreak in earliest stages, or
  • Governmental crackdown or Martial law.

Having an evacuation plan prepared and in place that includes rally points, rendezvous, signaling codes, times, dates, alternative locations, and ways of communication, without giving up valuable or critical information, is imperative.

Proposed Bylaws/Requirements for Members:

  • Secrecy is imperative; no person will be allowed to reside/evacuate with the group who is not a member of the group.
  • Members should be preregistered and committed to the group, and acceptance of the bylaws by signature should be required.
  • Personal concerns will be addressed by committee vote/hearing.
  • The following of the Ten Commandments is mandatory.
  • The group should follow the moral compass of the Bible.
  • An ongoing relationship with the Lord will be encouraged.
  • We will not negotiate with terrorist or marauders for lives of members of the group.
  • No members of the group will be left behind without retrieval being attempted.
  • Benevolence will be established and group admittance after the fact will be determined.
  • Dedication, to the Lord, and the group will be expected.
  • Participation is mandatory in the form of work details.
  • Duty rosters will be established.
  • Advanced training will be encouraged.
  • Capitalism will be encouraged.

EACH PERSON OVER 18:

  • Is encouraged but not required to have a handgun and 300 rounds of ammo of that caliber, 9 mm or larger.
  • Men over 18 are encouraged but not required to also have a rifle and 500 rounds of ammo of that caliber, including five mags of the same caliber if pertinent. (AR-15 Variant is recommended but not required.)
  • The alternatively to having a rifle is for men over 18 to have a shotgun, 20 gauge or larger, pump action or double barrel, with 250 rounds of various size shot, 50 rounds of buck shot required in round count, 20 deer slugs required in round count.
  • Must have at least $100.00 in cash.
  • Should have pre-1965 silver with a $25.00 face value, U.S.-minted coinage or equivalent.
  • Must have a CB, walkie-talkie, or hand held radio.

EACH PERSON OVER 16:

  • Must have some form of state/federal identification.
  • Perform twenty hours per week community service while at evacuation location.
  • Have hand tools, with a minimum of four tools per person
  • Must possess a survival knife with blade over 4″ long and a sharpening stone

EACH PERSON OVER THE AGE OF 12:

  • Is required to participate in four hours a week of training. Training will include hunting/marksmanship, bush craft, personal defense, gardening, food preservation, first aid, nutrition, plant identification, and more.
  • Is required to have a personal first-aid kit/trauma kit (Hardship cases will be evaluated if requested on a person-by-person basis.)

FOR EACH PERSON IN THE FAMILY, FAMILY MEMBER(S) MUST CONTRIBUTE:

  • A total of forty hours of prior community service to the group’s evacuation location preparation.
  • $100 (or $200 for entire family) of construction materials on-site or in place at evacuation location.

FOR EACH PERSON IN THE FAMILY, THE FAMILY SHOULD HAVE STORED THE FOLLOWING:

  • 200 lbs. of canned/dried goods per person.
  • 100 lbs. of rice or beans or oatmeal per person.
  • Two flashlights plus batteries.
  • Five long-life candles.
  • One kerosene or Coleman fuel lantern and mantles,
  • One alternative cooking source.
  • One alternative heating source with spare fuel.
  • Twenty-five lbs. of toiletries.
  • Twenty-five lbs. of first aid items.
  • For each viable female, a case of famine hygiene products.
  • Babies still on breastmilk or formula must have a six month supply of formula.
  • Five lbs. of salt.
  • Ten lbs. of sugar.

EACH FAMILY IS REQUIRED TO HAVE:

The items above are mandatory. What are the other things recommended to previously obtained and have in place or ready to take with me? When it is time to evacuate, there will be more for you gather, such as.

  • Gardening tools (large and small), seeds, fertilizer, buckets, watering cans, et cetera,
  • Clothing for at least seven days, including weather dependent four pair of shoes (minimum two pair for hiking),
  • Cash, precious metals, barter items,
  • Protection in the forms of weapons and ammunition, force multipliers, battle gear,
  • Construction tools in carrier or tool box,
  • Construction materials,
  • Long-term food stores, all you can carry (plus all you have previously stored on location),
  • Personal effects, documents, identification, driver’s license, passport, and birth certificate,
  • Means of communication– two-way and public monitoring radio, scanners, and cell phone,
  • Alternative lighting and heating options, fire starters, and related items,
  • Alternative cooking devices and spare fuel,
  • Food preservation aids, such as vacuum sealers, canners, pressure canners, Mylar bags, oxygen absorbers, and so forth,
  • Food mills and grinders,
  • First aid supplies, prescription and non-prescription medications, creams, ointments, bug spray, sun screen, lotion, alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, Vaseline, and other related items,
  • Toiletries: soap, shampoo, hand lotion, grooming items, tooth brush, paste, floss, razor, et cetera,
  • Feminine hygiene items and contraceptives,
  • Bedding, towels, pillows,
  • A Bible, games, books, playing cards, and other means of entertainment,
  • Batteries, chargers, and adapters,
  • Battery-powered hand tools for construction,
  • Generators, converters, spare batteries, and other power sources,
  • Cooking utensils, pots, pans, Dutch ovens (the larger, the better for community meals),
  • Preparedness library, downloads from Internet printed out, phone apps on survival, Boy Scout manuals, and how-to books on wilderness survival,
  • Camping gear– sleeping bags, tents, tarps, portable shelter, portable stoves, et cetera,
  • Cots, air mattresses/pads, rollup mattresses, hammocks, and rope,
  • Fishing gear and hunting gear, plus meat processing equipment,
  • Spices
  • Coffee, hot drink or cold drink mixes, tea, et cetera,
  • Water treatment supplies/storage containers,
  • Alternative ways of hunting, such as cross bows, bows, slingshots, snares, and/or blowguns,
  • Ammo reloading supplies and equipment,

Having a location in advance to evacuate to may allow for large portions of these items to be stored up in advance.

CB Radio communications and Rally Points

CB users should monitor Channel 17 each evening at 6:00 PM, if there is notification of an impending or active crisis, for evacuation status.

The status levels are as follows:

  • Green level means all is well; there is no perceived need to monitor radio/cell phone at this time,
  • Yellow level means things are heating up and in flux; updates of times and radio frequencies to monitor will be issued, and
  • Red Level means the times are showing stress and difficulty, and evacuation is imminent. Instructions for evacuation locations, times, rally points, and additional instructions will be issued in coded form to members of the group. Departure times will be determined after rally points are reached and a census is taken of members present.

Codes for evacuation locations:

  • Rally point 1: location A
  • Rally Point 2: location B
  • Rally Point 3: location C
  • Rally Point 4: Head to bug out location

If a Rally Point is deemed unsafe to use, the first person arriving will paint, mark, or tape a large “C” (meaning that the location is compromised) or place a red bandana on the entrance to the location to warn others to move to an alternative rally point, which is given in the original instructions via the radio.

Codes for radio communications instructing telling when and where to meet:

  • Times will be based on xxxx
  • Days will be based on xxxx
  • Rally points will be given as numbers listed above.

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

 

 

Via: survivalblog

Home Invasions & Criminal Attacks: Why the Police Can’t Save You

When it comes to defending your home, nobody can do a better job at protecting it, and more importantly the people who live within its walls, than you. Unfortunately, we live in a society that has grown increasingly reliant on the government to protect them in every little aspect of their lives; believing that when trouble hits, some random government agency is going to be there to help.

Most people have chosen to outsource their safety and security, instead of taking the very real and necessary steps to ensure their own wellbeing. Sadly, this attitude is the reason so many criminals feel so safe and secure when committing their crimes. They know that the chances of being stopped by the average citizen are pretty low, and the chances of law enforcement arriving before they finish their crime are even lower.

According to the FBI, over 1.5 million homes are burglarized each and every year. When it comes to crime, it’s one of the most likely events a person will face. Yet, most Americans don’t take even the most basic of precautions to protect themselves, their homes, and their loved ones. This is why criminals love these types of crimes; they know they can get away with it.

While much of the information you read about criminal behavior usually comes from some egg-head college professor, who doesn’t know the first thing about how real criminals think and behave, my knowledge comes directly from firsthand experience. I grew up around these people, spent years dealing with them, and know exactly how they tick.

The fact is, most criminals are incredibly good at what they do. While you’re at work trying to pay the bills, these people hard at work getting better at their profession: CRIME. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, they’re figuring out ways to enrich themselves off of your hard work and sacrifice.

Law enforcement cannot stop Home Invasions

Home invasions and burglaries really are among a criminal’s favorite crimes. It’s a crime that lawbreakers really love, because they know that they’ll be long gone before law enforcement ever has a chance of reaching them.

You cannot put your safety in the hands of law enforcement.

In some areas of the country, the average response time for a police officer to respond to an emergency call is over 30 minutes. But even if your take a best-case scenario, one where law enforcement responds within 5 – 10 minutes, the chances of them being able to act before things do bad are slim to none. You’re on your own!

Law enforcement has no legal obligation to protect you.

Think I’m exaggerating? The fact is, law enforcement has no legal obligation to protect you. In fact, back in 2005 the Supreme Court ruled that the police do not have a constitutional duty to protect a person from harm. This Supreme Court opinion strengthened an earlier ruling, Warren v. District of Columbia, where the District of Columbia Appeals Court ruled that police do not have to provide services to citizens.

I’ve spent decades teaching people about the art of self-defense, and researching criminal behavior. Much of my knowledge comes from firsthand experience, growing up around some of the nastiest people you can imagine.

You are the only person who can protect what’s yours!

To truly be able to protect yourself, your family, and your home, you must take matters into your own hands. You need to develop a self-defense mindset, and you need to start thinking about how to protect yourself from home invasions and crime.

Protecting yourself from Home Invasion

In my new book, The Ultimate Situational Survival Guide: Self-Reliance Strategies for a Dangerous World, I dedicate an entire section specifically to the surviving things like violent attacks, active shooter situations, and home invasions. I do this because, in my opinion, they are among the most likely threats a person will face in their lifetime.

In order to protect yourself from these types of crimes, especially home invasions, you need to take your security and self-defense seriously. Long before a criminal has decided to break into your home, he has mentally prepared himself for everything he needs to do to successfully commit that crime, including taking innocent lives.

With that in mind, you need to ask yourself how prepared you are to deal with someone who is ready to do whatever it takes to get away with his crime. These people are more than likely armed, good at what they do, and ready for violence. They will not hesitate to hurt someone in your home.

  • You need to be ready to act: If you’ve never fired a firearm, or the last time you were at the range was when you first purchased your gun, you need to consider taking a training course that deals in real-life self-defense situations. Firing at a paper target is not the same thing as firing at an attacker in a life or death situation.
  • You need to take home security seriously. The foundation of any good home security plan is laying out multiple layers of deterrence. This includes things like high visibility security measures like fences, security alarm signs, and guard dogs – meant to scare of potential intruders, to internal security features like strengthening doorways, windows and any points of entry.
  • Build a Safe Room. I’m not a big fan of something known as sheltering in place, unless that shelter is a fortified safe room meant to withstand an armed attack. Next to owning and knowing how to use a firearm, a safe room in one of the most important layers of defense in home security. A good safe room should be able to withstand an armed attack, and should be built in a way that allows you to escape out a backdoor or escape hatch if things go really bad.

Also check out:

Realistic Home Security Tips and Tricks

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

 

Via: offgridsurvival

New Hampshire Proposes Ban on ‘Police State’

With exception to arming the state’s National Guard, New Hampshire House Bill 407 — the Police Equipment and Community Engagement Act — would bar officials from possessing any military equipment “not readily available in an open national commercial market.”

New Hampshire’s HB407 would effectively bring the state’s participation in the 1033 program to an end. The program has supplied New Hampshire localities with more than $6,000,000 in military gear, the legislation’s text states. However…

“New Hampshire cities and towns are required to repair and maintain this additional military grade hardware that consumes limited town and city funds that are needed for other functions.”

In response to increasing police militarization in the US and the cost of doing so, legislation proposed in the New Hampshire state House would implement a ban on state and local officials obtaining or using certain military weaponry acquired from the Pentagon or other sources.

 

The militarization of state and local law enforcement agencies by federal programs which are dispensing “weapons and tactics of war, with almost no public discussion or oversight.” may be coming to an end in New Hampshire. While the state is certainly low in the overall rankings of state’s which might be considered ‘police states’, New Hampshire is saying ‘no more’.

Local police forces across the United States have benefited from the militarized mindset of the post-9/11, “war on terror” era, as wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and funding from the likes of the US Department of Homeland Security have resulted in a mass proliferation of military-grade weaponry.

One way the US government distributes combat gear to local police departments is through the US Department of Defense’s 1033 program, in which the Pentagon offers hundreds of millions of dollars of surplus military equipment to police forces throughout the US.

One major problem for the cities and towns who acquire these freebies from the US government is the extraordinary high cost of maintaining the equipment (at taxpayers expense).

New Hampshire has apparently come to the realization that a ‘police state’ is not necessary and it’s just not worth it to keep and maintain equipment and weaponry that’s meant for ‘war’…


Do you think that other states will adopt this attitude? Or only just a few (or just NH)?

Source: RT

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

 

Via: modernsurvivalblog

When Real Disaster Strikes: These Are The People Who Will Loot, Pillage and Kill You For Your Food


(Panic In Northeast: Tens of thousands raid grocery stores in search of food and supplies)

Time and again we are reminded why it is prudent to have a backup plan just in case things go wrong. You’ve already got car insurance, house insurance, medical insurance and life insurance. But what about disaster insurance? And no, we’re not talking about a piece of paper guarantee issued by some behemoth corporation who you’re supposed to call when things go wrong.

Real disaster insurance in this context refers to your own personal and familial emergency reserve supplies and strategies, to be consumed and implemented when all hell breaks loose.

What’s happening in the North Eastern part of the United States right now – “Snowpacolypse” – should convince anyone who hasn’t done so yet to prepare themselves for short- and long-term calamities. They happen quite regularly all over the world. We’ve seen them hit time and again in both, first and third world nations in the form of storms, natural disasters and even economic meltdowns. Yet, despite the repeated media broadcasts of suffering and complete destitution often wrought by these events, millions of people still laugh at the notion that, as even the government recommends, you should have a two week emergency supply of food, water and other disaster gear.

It is these very people – the ones who call preppers crazy and snicker at their idea of prudent preparedness and self-sustainability – who will be out in force to loot, pillage and kill for these critical lifesaving supplies when a widespread disaster or emergency strikes their area. And no, we’re not talking about a 3-day scenario like a snow storm, which is limited in scope and comes with warnings ahead of time, with supply lines being restocked soon after the storm passes.

Rather, we’re talking about any number of events that are capable of crippling our entire nation in one fell swoop for an extended period of time lasting two weeks or more. These may include national-scale disasters such as a cyber-attack on our utility infrastructure, a super electro-magnetic pulse weapon that takes down our power grid, or a massive financial collapse that locks credit markets and makes resupply of essentials like food, medicine and gas impossible.

All of these events and numerous others like them, though unlikely, remain a plausible and serious threat to our way of life because they are capable of literally sending us back into the middle ages overnight.

Should such a scenario ever become reality, then guess who’ll be coming over looking to take your supplies?

Here’s a hint. They’ve been lining up in droves at local super markets and clearing shelves all over the North East as a massive snowstorm approaches:





Store shelves are cleared within hours of people realizing that a disaster is in progress:


We know what you’re thinking, “it’s just a snow storm.” And you’re right. These short-term events are nothing to really worry about. Even if you got to a grocery store late and couldn’t get food or fresh water you can still go over to a friend’s house or perhaps knock on your neighbor’s door for some food to get you by.

But should the disaster facing the population be something more severe, when people have realized that no re-supply is coming because our just-in-time transportation system has shut down, then you can fully expect that frantic knocks on peoples’ doors will be ignored.

Then what?

The answer is simple. As The Prepper’s Blueprint author Tess Pennington notes in Anatomy of a Breakdown, you can expect widespread societal breakdown within 72 hours:

Have you ever heard the saying, “We’re three days away from anarchy?” 

In the wake of a disaster, that’s all you have is three days to turn the crazy train around before crime, looting and chaos ensue.


Multiple factors contribute to societal breakdowns including failure of adequate government response, population density, citizens taking advantage of the grid being down and overwhelmed emergency response teams.

For whatever reason, 3-5 days following a disaster is the bewitching hour. During this short amount of time, the population slowly becomes a powder keg full of angry, desperate citizens. A good example is the chaos that ensued in New Orleans following the absence of action from the local government or a timely effective federal response in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In such troubled times, people were forced to fend for themselves and their families, by any means necessary. This timeline of Hurricane Katrina effectively illustrates “the breakdown,” and within three days, the citizens of New Orleans descended into anarchy, looting and murder

The majority of the looting, and certainly the despair, can easily be prevented with basic preparedness strategies that include managing your own food supply and stockpiling key supplies. In her free 52 Weeks to Preparedness web series Pennington outlines scores of essentials that you won’t really know you need until you need them, including food supply lists, medical items, toiletries, alternative power sources, and home defense tools.

At the very least, every American should have a stockpile, even if just a couple of boxes that fit in your closet, containing the following:

  • Meals Ready To Eat – These are full course meals that pack a caloric wallop and will suffice just fine for a period of two weeks or more. They are compact and easy to store, and given their relative low cost, are an excellent investment not just for emergencies in your home, but something to take hiking, camping or leave in your car in case you find yourself broken down in the middle of nowhere. High density emergency food bars are another option to diversify your reserves.
  • Water Reserves – Expect water utility companies to be out of operation as employees stay home to care for their families. This happens in almost every major disaster, meaning that you either better have effective water filtration and treatment supplies, or have reserve water packets.
  • Medicine – Basic first aid kits are an absolute must. A small cut can do serious damage over a two-week period when there is no doctor.
  • Toiletries – You’ll want some reserve toilet paper, for obvious reasons. But also consider sanitation as a key preparedness strategy, because if your toilet doesn’t flush then things will get ugly very quickly.
  • For an extensive list of preparedness considerations, supplies and strategies check out the free 52 Weeks To Preparedness web series.

At last count some 1% of Americans, roughly three out of our nation’s 300-plus million people, have taken any steps to prepare. It’s a sobering statistic to be sure, especially considering that the Department of Homeland Security has warned people to stockpile at least a two week supply of food and water rations just in case.

Most Americans, it seems, still think the government will be there to provide assistance when the worst happens. The problem, of course, is that despite the millions of meals-ready-to-eat they have stockpiled, they will not have the resources to deal with 300 million desperate people.

The following statement from one San Francisco resident hit by last year’s West Coast storm pretty much sums it all up:

“I couldn’t get my car out of the garage, I have no food, I have no cash, so I’m trying to forage for something.”

After the 72-hour mark this individual and others like him will have no choice but to go out “foraging” for food. They’ll likely be armed, operating in groups and they’ll be going door-to-door.

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

Via: shtfplan

Northeast Snowstorm And The Governors And Mayors Who Eagerly Ban Travel

For the past several days the national and local mainstream news media has hyped to the max the northeast ‘Blizzard of 2015′. Well before the first flakes settled, several northeast state governors and mayors were in a race to out-do each-other to see who would be first to play ‘Nanny’ and BAN all sorts of travel and movements of the citizen sheeple.

I believe that NYC mayor Bill de Blasio may have been first to preemptively BAN travel on roads, shut down the subways and public transportation, airports, and apparently ordered citizens to shelter in place ($300 fine for being caught out on the sidewalk..? Really?)…

The governor of Connecticut and the governor of Massachusetts both BANNED travel on ALL roads.

Here’s my beef…

Snowstorms have been occurring every winter in the northeast since the beginning of time. Some of them big. North-easterners have fared well enough and have made it through winter storm after winter storm – throughout their entire lives. Why is it that suddenly there has been literal ‘banning’ of travel – even though the citizenry has managed to survive these major storms throughout all of history on their own?

Here’s more…

 

I would like to think that many people have the common sense to use their best judgement regarding whether or not to travel during bad weather. And while there will always be the idiots without good judgement – why ‘ban’ travel for everyone just because there’s a major snow? And under what authority is this even possible in the United States?

Does Canada shut down for 8 months a year?

During the past several years, for the first time I have witnessed several instances of banning travel and even shelter-in-place by the ‘political authorities’. I don’t recall this ever having happened when I was younger, and I can’t help but wonder if this is the progressive result of an ongoing major shift change in our country – towards total government authority, police-state, and control over the citizenry.

There is no resistance. No apparent challenge or backlash. Am I the only one who is bothered by this? Or do I just have my own issues with ‘authority’?

While this particular winter snowstorm is producing localized blizzard conditions in some areas near the coast of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine, and one would probably be fool-hardy to be traveling in those particular conditions, there are other parts of New England receiving less than blizzard conditions (although heavy snowfall) and many New Englanders who may choose or have to travel in such conditions (for whatever their reasons) have 4WD vehicles/trucks to get through a given snowstorm (along with the help of municipal snowplows – same as it always was).

Recommending no travel is wise. Banning travel? Did I miss the declaration of Martial Law?

I am glad that I live in a state which refrains from playing ‘Nanny’ and one which enables its citizens to make their own decisions (with their own consequences – it’s called ‘self-responsibility’).

-End of rant


What is your opinion about politicians suddenly grabbing the ‘power’ and ‘authority’ to do things like banning travel? etc.?

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

Via: modernsurvivalblog

Charity Prepping

Many people donate to their church or to charities year round to support a cause or help those less fortunate. Have you ever considered combining your prepping activities with charitable giving?

Rotating Your Food Stock

When you’ve got your shelves full of pantry foods saved for an emergency, sometimes it’s hard to keep up on proper rotation of expiring items. (Though many foods are fine passed their “expiration dates” some are not, and some people choose not to keep/eat expired foods when they have the ability to buy a replacement.) If you find that you can’t or don’t want to eat what you’ve stored, don’t throw it out! Take it to a local food bank, homeless shelter, or soup kitchen.

This is also a great way for people who don’t eat processed food, yet want to have food storage in case of emergency. Go ahead and buy your food stock and shelve it. When it comes time to rotate it out, instead of feeding it to your family, donate it to the food bank.

Our supply of dehydrated and freeze dried #10 cans of 10-30 year food storage items was pricey, but what we gained was long shelf life. Toward the end of the shelf life limit, we will simply load up the truck and donate it to a family or organization in need. Yes, we could use it ourselves, but instead our donation will be made with gratitude that we didn’t have to live through a disaster that was so bad we needed our long term food storage to survive. We will purchase a new stash and pray we get to donate again in another 20 years.

Blessing Bags

When deciding to rotate out some of your food items, consider breaking them down into individual items. Instead of taking the case of cheese and crackers, boxes of raisins or granola bars and single serve applesauce to the food bank, divide them into ziplock baggies along with the travel sized personal hygiene items you’ve collected from your travels and make Blessing Bags with them. Keep them in your car for an easy way to offer a little something to a homeless person you encounter. For more ideas on what to include in blessing bags, click here.

TEOTWAWKI Giving

We all know people who, for a variety of reasons, don’t have even a beginning level of preparedness. These are the ones who will be knocking on your door asking for help when they have no food or supplies. What will you do? Send them away? Give them some of the preps meant for your family? What if they are armed? What if they have young children with them? These are all questions you have to ask yourself ahead of time and have at least a plan of how you intend to respond.

Ken Jenson of the Clever Survivalist gives one good reason to be charitable with your preps besides simple generosity. “When you share food with [others] you will gain something called social capital.” You’re being generous with them, so they may feel obligated to help you. They may not have preps, but they likely have skills, and working together as a team is the beginning of setting up a thriving community in the midst of hardship.

So what should you put aside ahead of time in your charity prep stash? Jenson suggests the items should be inexpensive, easy to store and high energy.

Dried Beans

Rice

Noodles/Pasta

Dried Mixed Fruit

Rolled Oats

Sugar

Salt

Dried Milk

Bulk Wheat

There are two schools of thought when deciding how to package up these giveaways. The first is to have everything preplanned and prepackaged so you just have to hand the gift to the person and send them on their way. This is convenient and quick. Some preppers think it’s too convenient and quick which is why they don’t like it. Showing a stranger that level of preparedness may tell them that you have a lot more stock ready for the taking. Instead, consider the second option which is to have items set aside but not prepackaged. Keep a stash of plastic grocery bags with these items and fill them as needed. This might send the message that you threw this together on the spot and make it appear more like a “sacrifice” you’re making to help.

If you are prepping for extended civil unrest, EMP, or other long term disastrous events, think about other inexpensive items besides food to stock up on in your charity giving preps that will help people who haven’t planned ahead. In addition to these tangible items, you can “teach a man to fish” by also including a page or two of basic instructions on how to start a fire, make water safe to drink, finding shelter, etc.

Matches

Ziploc bags

Mylar blankets

Water purification tablets

Individual hand sanitizers

Feminine hygiene products

Bug repellant wipes, baby wipes

Small tissue packs

Light sticks

Tealight candles

Latex gloves

Ponchos

Many in the prepper community are adamant about only “taking care of their own” and tell others “don’t come to my house looking for food or I’ll shoot you.” While I don’t deny the need to protect and provide for your family, I don’t believe it will be as “easy” as just shooting people in a true disastrous scenario. Are you really going to shoot the mom and her starving baby who knock on your door asking for something to eat? Or would it be better to have some additional supplies set aside to offer as you send them on their way? We all understand the importance of supporting those in need even during the “good times.” Plan ahead and be willing and able to help during the “bad times” as well.

Author’s Note: Click this link to hear more on the subject of charity prepping in a podcast by the Clever Survivalist. If you want to get right into the meat of the topic, forward ahead to about the 18:12 mark. And don’t forget – depending on who you give it to, this can be a tax deduction

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

Via: thesurvivalmom

WEEKLY THREAT ROUNDUP 1-24-15

 

From AlertsUSA

 

 

Turmoil on the Saudi Peninsula,
al Qaeda Renews Call for Lone-Wolf Attacks
Jan 24, 2015
 
Between Jan 20-22, 2015, AlertsUSA issued the following
related Flash messages to subscriber mobile devices:
1/22 – Saudi King Abdullah ibn Abdilaziz has died. U.S. State Department expected to issue cautionary security statement to U.S. citizens in country. Monitoring…

1/22 – Gov of Yemen has fallen. US Embassy warning citizens of high terror threat and to depart immediately. US Navy now in the Red Sea for poss evacuation missions.

1/20 – White House & DoD confirm coup in Yemen. US military aircraft rptd over capital, Marines offshore. AlertsUSA monitoring disposition of US Embassy. Developing…

What You Need To Know
On multiple occasions this week AlertsUSA subscribers were notified via SMS messages to their mobile devices regarding a collapse of the government in Yemen and the warnings issued for U.S. citizens to evacuate.

Why is this of importance you AlertsUSA subscribers? Because as was reported last week and on several other occasions over the last few years, Yemen is home to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the most active of al Qaeda’s branches and the group responsible for numerous successful, as well as attempted attacks on the U.S. and it’s citizens and interests abroad. AQAP is also highly successful at recruiting and motivating individuals to carry out lone wolf attacks here in the U.S.. Most recently, AQAP also took responsibility for this month’s attack against the satirical French newspaper Charlie Hebdo, which killed 12 people. The more unstable and chaotic the situation in Yemen, the greater the difficulty in monitoring the terror group and the greater the potential for expansion of Islamic terror operations.

With the fall of the Yemeni government, which both the Pentagon and State Department describe as a strong counter-terrorism partner, concerns are growing as to the impact this will have on overall efforts to monitor and ultimately defeat the group.

AQAP RENEWS CALL FOR ATTACKS

Early this week, a senior AQAP leader and spokesman, Nasser bin Ali al-Ansi, again urged Muslims to carry out lone-wolf strikes in Western countries. In a video interview distributed online Tuesday, when answering a question about whether those living “under the rule of the disbelievers” should immigrate to Muslim countries or “practice in an effective role in our place here,” al-Ansi stated the following:

“If he is capable to wage individual jihad in the Western countries that fight Islam, such as America, Britain, France, Canada and others of the countries that represent the head of disbelief in waging war against Islam, and participate in this Crusader campaign — if he is capable of that then that is better and more harmful.”

When asked why attacks have abated in the United States, al-Ansi replied:

“By the grace of Allah the great (and) the almighty, we have made efforts in external work, and the enemy knows the danger of that,” al-Ansi said. “We are preparing and lurking for the enemies of Allah. We incite the believers to do that.”

PENTAGON PUSHING FOR IMMEDIATE EVACUATION

There are media reports that while the State Department wants to keep the U.S. Embassy in Yemen open as long as possible, the Department of Defense is pushing for an immediate evacuation before the current situation worsens. To this end, the U.S. Navy has moved two warships into the Red Sea off the west coast of Yemen and close to the capital of Sana’a. According to U.S. 5th Fleet spokesman Cmdr. Kevin Stephens, the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima and the dock landing ship USS Fort McHenry are on station, both filled with elements of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit. Between those two warships, there’s enough combat power to respond to whatever contingency may come up.

SAUDI KING DIES, SICK ELDERLY BROTHER SUCCEEDS

On Thursday of this week AlertsUSA subscribers were some of the first in the nation to learn that Saudi King Abdullah had died. King Abdullah was 91 years old and had been hospitalized with pneumonia since December. His death comes at a critical time for the delicately balanced country and deeply troubled region.

According to state television. King Abdullah is to be succeeded by his brother, Crown Prince Salman, who is himself is reportedly in poor health and suffering from dementia.

SAUDIS BUILDING GREAT WALL TO COMBAT ISIS

Just last week, it was announced that the Saudis would be building a 600-mile long high tech security wall and ditch along its border with Iraq in effort to insulate itself from an increasing number of attacks by the Islamic State. While rarely touched on by the mainstream media, conquest of the Saudi Kingdom and the control of Islam’s two holiest cities of Mecca and Medina is considered the grand prize for the Islamic State. Considering that Saudi Arabia has already indoctrinated its population (including it’s military) with a strict religious ideology deeply sympathetic to ISIS, there is a distinct possibility that in the coming weeks and months we may see far more chaos in the region than has been seen to date.

And this chaos has direct implications for the U.S.. If ISIS presses forward with this golden opportunity to to move on Saudi territory en masse, there is a high probability that the U.S. military would become involved given the global strategic importance of the Saudi oil fields. The increased involvement of Western troops, particularly on Saudi soil, would then greatly increase the ability of the Islamic state to recruit additional fighters.

And around and around we go.

AlertsUSA continues to close monitor developments in this region and will immediately notify service subscribers of major changes in the overall threat picture as it applies to U.S. citizens and interests, as events warrant.

AlertsUSA.com

 

OTHER ALERTS ISSUED THIS WEEK BUT
NOT DETAILED IN THIS NEWSLETTER ISSUE

1/21 – Law enf in urban nationwide on alert as DOJ leaks there will be no civil rights charges against officer involved in Aug, 2014 shooting of teen in Ferguson, MO.

1/19 – Australian government raise terror alert level from Medium to High. Unspecified threat. US citizens advised to monitor local media. Developing situation.

 
 
* Homeland Security Threat Info Direct to Your
Mobile Device
* Get Away Early, Give Your Family Extra Safety.
* In Wide Use By Gov, 1st Responders, Travelers.
* 24/7/365 Monitoring. No Hype. Just the Bad Stuff.
* Issued Hours and Days before the MSM.
* On your Cell Phone, Tablet or Email.
* We Give The Clear Truth, Unlike the MSM.
* Over a Decade in Operation!
 
We are NOT part of the government.
In fact, they are our customers!

——————————

 

IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ISLAM
The Death Rattle of a Dhimmi Society
(A Powerful Rant by Pat Condell)

————————————————–

 

 


Travel Security Update

The U.S. Dept. of State is the authoritative federal source for information on the security situation at travel destinations worldwide. With tensions rapidly increasing in most regions, readers planning on international travel, even to such common destinations as Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean Islands, are strongly encouraged to do a little research on the security situation prior to departure.

Latest USGOV Travel Alerts and Warnings

Liberia   01/21/2015
Libya   01/20/2015
Worldwide Caution   01/09/2015
Worldwide Alert   12/19/2014
Ebola Travel Alert   12/02/2014
   

 

See all USGOV Travel Alerts and Warnings HERE.

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

Via: threatjournal

The Only Proof You Need That Guns Save Lives: “I Did The Right Thing”


What would you do if you were minding your own business in the comfort of your own home and a machete-wielding maniac started kicking in your door?

If you don’t have a firearm you’d likely panic, pick up the phone, and hope that 9-1-1 can get a police officer to your house in the next 15 seconds.

If you are an armed homeowner, however, you’ve not only given yourself a fighting chance, but you have the distinct advantage of being on your own turf and capable of dispatching the threat with near instantaneous results.

This is exactly the scenario James Cvengros was presented with recently when his insane neighbor Twain Thomas started screaming and becoming violent in the hallway of the apartment building in which Cvengros lives. Cvengros turned on a camera and pointed it at his front door just in case. As you’ll see in the video below, Thomas can be heard causing quite a ruckus outside, prompting Cvengros to take a look. He quickly closed and locked his door and waited.

Sure enough, a few seconds later Twain Thomas’ foot can be seen coming through his front door, at which point Cvengros warns that he has a gun. The would-be attacker, with machete in hand, would not be deterred.

As he comes through the door Cvengros discharges three bullets into Thomas’ chest.

Cvengros: “I didn’t want to do that… You were gonna kill me”

Thomas: “You’re right, I was”

Cvengros: “Well then I did the right thing”

 

 

In the aftermath of the shooting Twain Thomas can be heard gurgling and writhing in pain. A fitting result for someone who intended to do harm to the two innocent people who were doing nothing more than spending an evening at home.

Had there been no firearm in this home things could have gone a totally different direction and it’s quite possible the Cvengros, his wife, as well as Thomas’ partner with whom he was arguing could all be dead.

In the right hands, guns save lives. They are the great equalizer.

No further evidence is necessary.

Update: Twain Thomas survived his wounds and has been charged with two counts of attempted murder, aggravated battery and aggravated burglary.

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

 

 

 

 Via :  shtfplan

The Average Gallons Of Water People Consume Each Day

The average water consumption each day by ordinary people living in the modern world may be more than you think. While attempting to calculate an amount of emergency water storage for preparedness, lets first take a look at an average amount that most people consume.

The numbers may be stunning…

It’s easy to underestimate how much water we use in normal everyday life. When it flows out of the faucet at home, it may not seem like much – but throughout the day it all adds up to a surprising volume of water.

Let’s look at the various categories of water consumption and the amount of water which might be consumed each day under normal conditions.

Water For Drinking

The human body needs to replenish with water. It is said that on average the human body cannot survive beyond 3 days without water. Throughout each day we consume various forms of water – some of which is in our foods and others in the various liquids we drink.

It is a widely accepted recommendation to store 1 gallon of water for each survival day of drinking water. That’s 16 cups per day. While you probably are not drinking that much water each day today, if you had no other source of liquid intake you may approach that number – especially in hot weather or while under exertion.

Water For Washing Hands And Hygiene

When the faucet is ‘running’, there is more water flow than you may think, which adds up fast. Old faucets can use up to 5 gallons per minute while newer faucets flow about 2 gallons per minute. Lets say on average it’s 3 gallons per minute.

How often do you wash your hands (for whatever reasons) throughout the day? Running water while brushing your teeth? Etc.?

I will speculate that an average daily water usage in this category might be 2 gallons.

Water For Cooking

The amount of water used for food preparation and cooking will also depend on what you’re eating each day. Some foods require a good amount of water (boiling pastas, rice, beans, potatoes, etc..) while others do not.

Again, we need to estimate an average. I would guess that nearly every dinner meal during a given week might require a pot filled with water to boil something – maybe two…? Even for those of you who go out to eat, or take-out, etc… someone else is still consuming water to prepare your food.

So let’s just say that you might consume 1 gallon of water per day for cooking (more or less) on average.

Water For Washing Dishes

This category of water use can vary widely. Either you wash your pots and pans, dishes and utensils by hand (wide variation of water use depending on how you do this) – or you put them in the dishwasher. Either way you are consuming water.

Generally, a modern automatic dishwasher will use much less water than you doing it by hand. The current ‘energy star’ rated dishwasher is required to use less than 4.25 gallons of water per cycle (as of 2012). Older dishwashers will use more – previous energy star rating was 5.8 gallons (2009), and still older dishwashers will use up to 10 gallons per cycle.

If you’re hand washing dishes, the amount of water you’ll consume varies greatly depending on your method and how many dishes you’re washing. Some people let the water faucet run the entire time while rinsing. Others use rinse basins and wash basins, etc.. I will guess that water consumption for hand washing dishes may range from 10 to 30 gallons (‘normal usage’ while not paying attention to conservation efforts).

Since most people in the modern world use an automatic dishwasher (4 – 10 gallons), while some will hand wash dishes (10 – 30 gallons) lets say that on average the water consumption is about 8 gallons.

Water For Flushing The Toilet

Every time you flush the toilet, you are consuming at least 2 gallons (modern toilets) or even 3 or 4 gallons (older toilets). So the question is, how many times do you flush a toilet every day?

That depends of course, but on average I would guess 6 to 8 times a day, which would amount to about 20 gallons of water consumption per day on average.

Water For Washing Clothes

Most people don’t wash laundry every day – but certainly at least once a week. Again, this depends on how many are in the household and the lifestyle which may or may not warrant more clothes washing than others.

A top-loading washing machine consumes LOTS of water, and on average about 40 gallons per load (some are much more). A front-loading washing machine may consume on average about 20 gallons per load (some are less).

Let’s average the water usage to 30 gallons per load. If you only wash one load per week (probably a good average for one person), you will consume about 4 gallons of water per day.

Water For Bathing/Showering

Most people shower rather than bathe in a full bathtub of water. A modern efficient shower head may flow about 2 or 3 gallons per minute. Other shower heads will blast out much more than that. Let’s go with 3 gallons per minute as an average. A 10 minute shower will use about 30 gallons of water.

Drawing a bath for a half-full bathtub of water may consume about 50 gallons of water.

Some people shower every day while others not so much. Let’s go with a daily shower on average and usage of 30 gallons of water per day.

ADD IT ALL UP

Of course there will be wide variations, but…

According to my (very general) estimations listed above, on average each person may consume 66 gallons of water each day.

Generally, in the United States there are about 2.5 people per household. So the water consumption figure jumps to 165 gallons per day.


Typically, an emergency situation is fairly short-lived, and your emergency water storage or consumption needs will be nowhere near what you would normally use each day.

You will obviously need drinking water (although your faucet might still be flowing with water – you should plan as though it’s not). 1 gallon per day.

You should store at least minimal extra water for cleaning/hygiene. 1 gallon per day.

Apart from that, you can flush a toilet without running water by using this method which will consume about 3 gallons per flush (more or less) with ‘gray’ water. During an emergency you will conserve your flush habits (I will leave it to your imagination). ‘Flush’ water obviously does not have to be pure drinking water (safe for drinking) but instead could come from a bucket you’ve collected ‘down by the river’, etc..


The purpose of this post is to simply attempt to point out how much water we use every day, and how important it is in our lives. We take it for granted. But the thing is – most all of you depend on a steady flow of clean water coming out of your faucet.

If that flow ever stops… I’ll leave it at that…

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

 

 

 Via :  modernsurvivalblog

Teixobactin, A New Antibiotic

Another great post from our friends at doomandbloom.net.

————————————-

There is an epidemic that I’ve mentioned in past articles, and it’s spread to every continent: the epidemic of antibiotic resistance. Overuse of antibiotics in both humans and livestock (80% of antibiotics go to animals we eat) has resulted in drug-resistant strains of various microbes, including tuberculosis and salmonella.

 

 


80% of antibiotics go to livestock

 

In the last few years, no new antibiotics have come down the pipeline. Some current drugs are in their fourth generation, as pharmaceutical companies tweak existing medicines to gain time before the next resistant bug appears. This standstill bodes badly for a world that’s accustomed to technology moving at a faster pace every year. The era of totally drug resistant diseases may be dawning: A variant of tuberculosis in India that defies every method of treatment already exists.


A rare bit of good news, however, on the antibiotic front is the discovery of the first truly new antibiotic in decades: Teixobactin. It wasn’t born in a laboratory; it was found in the dirt beneath your feet. Researchers have suspected that the soil’s bacteria might have much to teach us regarding how to fight disease. Different species of bacteria battle each other every day. Most bacteria, however, don’t grow well in laboratories.


Now, the journal “Nature” reports that scientists have figured out how to grow previously un-culturable bacteria using an electronic “isolation chip”. They report that they have isolated a new antibiotic, Teixobactin, which they claim has no detectable resistance issues. It apparently works well against organisms that have become hardened to standard antibiotics, like Staph. Aureus and Tuberculosis.


There are millions of uncultured bacteria in the soil that are yet to be grown and investigated. This new method of isolating these bacteria may lead to a number of new antibiotics. As well, other medicines for treatment against cancer, inflammation, and immune issues may one day be developed; it’s been described as the “tip of the iceberg”.

 Teixobactin and other drugs are still in the FDA pipeline, so it’ll be a while before you’ll be given a prescription for it. Serious side effects have to be ruled out before it goes to the general public. Let’s hope that this new method will lead to more breakthroughs.

 

Joe Alton, M.D.


Joe Alton, M.D.

Dr. Bones and Nurse Amy have a series of DVDs on various medical preparedness topics, including Survival Medicine, Pandemic Preparedness, Guide to Medical Supplies, and Wound Care/Suturing/Stapling. Check them out at: http://store.doomandbloom.net/

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

 

 

 Via :  doomandbloom