Tag Archive: doomsday

Eric Holder wants gun owners to wear ‘smart gun’ bracelets

Attorney General Eric Holder wants to explore “common sense” gun reforms, like mandating that gun owners would have to wear bracelets before they could activate their firearms.

Holder made his remarks while testifying before a U.S. House of Representatives appropriations committee on Friday. He acknowledged the existence of the Second Amendment, which gives people the unqualified right to own and carry weapons, but nevertheless expressed support for several gun control measures that he described as “common sense reforms,” according to The Washington Free Beacon.

“One of the things we learned when we were trying to pass those common sense reforms last year, Vice President Biden and I had a meeting with a group of technology people and talked about how guns can be made more safe by making them either though fingerprint identification, the gun talks to a bracelet that you might wear, how guns can be used only by the person who is lawfully in possession of the weapon,” said Holder, referring to so-called “smart gun” technology.

“It’s those kinds of things that I think we want to try to explore so that people have the ability to enjoy their Second Amendment rights while at the same time decreasing the misuse of weapons that lead to the kinds of things we see on a daily basis, where people, kids especially, are struck down.”

A smart gun requires the shooter to be wearing a bracelet or watch with an RFID chip that communicates with the gun and allows it to fire.

The National Rifle Association opposes such technology, writing last year that “we are opposed to government mandates that require the use of expensive, unreliable features, such as grips that would read your fingerprints before the gun will fire.”

Holder’s testimony concerned the Department of Justice’s budget requests for fiscal year 2014. Holder would like Congress to allocate increased funding — an additional $380 million — for gun safety programs. About $2 million would go toward the development of gun safety technologies, such as fingerprint-responsive mechanisms and GPS trackers. These technologies could make it easier for law enforcement to tell when guns are missing or stolen. (RELATED: New York state offers $500 reward for reporting gun owners)

However, they could also stoke fears of the federal government keeping tabs on gun owners, as some state governments do. (RELATED: Law-abiding Connecticut gun owners may face FELONY CHARGES for failing to register weapons)

 

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Via: dailycaller


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10 Non-Power Tools You Need for Survival

Guest post By Doc Montana, a contributing author of SurvivalCache.com

 

I knew we were in trouble the moment I saw the Black and Decker battery-powered adjustable wrench.  I’d encountered screwdrivers with dead batteries, saws without extension cords, and drills with easily over-heated motors, but an electric wrench?

 

Frankentools

Even the Craftsman electric hammer wasn’t as frightening as a AAA-powered wrench. What was the world coming to?  Since that time I have considered what essential but simple tools have crawled their way out of the primordial tool box and evolved into electric-powered, motor-driven, battery-dependent versions that grind, drill and saw through anything in seconds as long as their copper circulatory system has a steady flow of electrons.  If the Grid goes down, the these highly advanced tools are collectively no more useful than a bright yellow bag filled with boat anchors.

Most people have experienced the failure of an electric screwdriver and have quickly remedied that situation, so manual screwdrivers were too obvious to make this list. But how about the other essential non-power tools necessary to rebuild society, or at least repair your domicile after a hurricane or civil war? Here’s a list of 10 non-power tools to have handy when the grid hits a speed bump.

What You Need


 

1.Cross-cut saw:  Very few people today have tried to cut through a large tree with a handsaw, and with good reason.

Branches, yes, but trunks, never.  Now imagine a SHTF situation where you can’t use or don’t want to use a noisy, smelly chainsaw.  Not hard to imagine actually, but as you look at the tree blocking the road, laying across your roof, or soon to be turned into your bug out cabin, you’ve got a lot of sawdust-making ahead of you.  This country was built with cross-cut saws, and while not as efficient as their internal combustion descendants, a pair of muscles and a sharp cross-cut will make short order of any tree outside our national parks.

Cross-cut saws come in one and two person versions that differ by length and handles. If you live in a place where you know you will need to cut trees, the two-man version is best. For some strange twist of physics, twice the manpower is more than twice as fast. But if space is an issue, the one-man version is smaller and a makeshift second handle can be bolted onto the end of the blade if needed.

 

 

 


 

2. Hacksaw: Most of us are quick to grab our reciprocating saw like a Milwaukee Sawzall (the Kleenex of such things) for just about every non-precise cutting task whether pipes, plywood, or plastic.  Even fire/rescue folks have their trusty lithium-powered Sawzall on board to cut future hospital patients out of their current predicament.

Useful hand hacksaws come in two classic sizes, 10 inch blades and 12 inch.  The standard looking solid-frame hacksaw uses a 12 inch blade while the mini saw uses the 10 inch. For the price, I recommend at least one of each, and you can use 12 inch blades on the mini versions, but it’s easy to break the non-supported portion of the blade if you’re not careful.  And even if you do snap it in half, just keep using whatever piece fits in the saw.

 


 

 

3. Standard Hand Saw: This is the traditional looking saw with a wood handle attached to a slightly triangular blade tapering as it goes from grip to tip.  They come in various lengths and tooth sizes, and of course, price points.  The useful length of a hand saw tops out at about 30 inches, but a 26 or 20 inch blade works very well for most tasks.  I have a handful of 15 inch saws floating around and they work as good or better than most camp saws when you don’t need to carry the saw in your pack.

As the teeth get smaller, it is easier to cut because less material is removed with each stroke.  So the there is a tradeoff between cutting speed and necessary muscle.  If  you are in a region with harder woods, go for a tooth count above 10.  If your world is more of softer woods like the pine forests of the west, then fewer than 10 teeth per inch will serve most needs just fine.  Either way, the high-carbon steel will rust and pit if left alone outside.

 


 

4. Large Hand Drill:
Hand-powered drills seem to be something that has fallen off the radar of most folks due to their proliferation in antique stores.  Oddly, the same “antique” hand drill can be found in larger hardware stores for less money.  Hobby shops often have a few on hand as well, but either way, there are plenty of options still in production.

Larger hand drills come in two popular designs. One looks like a bigger version of the standard small hand drill which is little more than a vertical shaft with a geared-crank wheel attached to the center, a handle above it, and a chuck below it.  The other design called a brace drill looks like a bowed shaft of metal with a chuck on one end, a spin-able knob on the other and a rotating grip in the middle.  Either design will allow you to place a considerable portion of your body weight on the shaft while drilling, but the cost of the more complex geared version increases exponentially as it goes up in size.

Brace drills are much less expensive and often have a ratchet mechanism like a socket that allows drilling in confined spaces where a complete revolution of the offset handle is not possible. Most brace drills have chucks that take up to half-inch bit shafts, but reduced-shaft wood bits give your brace drill up to a two inch diameter drilling capacity assuming you have a bit that size, let alone a need for a hole that big and the time to drill it.

 


 

5. Small Hand Drill: Most household drilling jobs will settle for a hole one-quarter inch in diameter or less which just so happens to be the capacity of smaller hand drills.  It is very easy to snap off small drill bits when using a larger drill so small hand drills are essential if your drilling needs require holes pin to pencil-sized.  Small hand drills do not generate as much torque as the larger versions, so both small and larger hand drills are necessary since one size won’t drill all.

Most of us, myself included, have many powered options when it comes to drilling holes and driving screws.  But charging a 28v advanced lithium power cell is not the same as charging a cell phone battery with a crank-powered emergency radio. Without a gas-powered generator or a roof covered in solar panels, power tools are not really tools at all.


 

6. Battery-free Battery Tester: These days, batteries can sit on a shelf for a decade and still have some useful juice left in them. Even the Sanyo Eneloop rechargeables are good after a year in the drawer. But how will you know if the cache of batteries you just discovered is any good. And as you know, one dud in the device kills all the others.

A battery tester that does not itself use a battery won’t give as reliable a reading as a powered tester, but still it is a helpful reading for most situations. The powered versions can test the battery under load, but most folks use a tester to give the thumbs up or down to any given battery. Just make sure the particular tester you have can test all the batteries you use including 12v CR123 and 3v button cells.


 

7. Battery-free Circuit Tester: Why would you need an old-school circuit tester if there is no electricity? Simple, how do you know there is no electricity? As one of the cheapest tools on this list, it is also one that could save your life. Since the indicator light won’t kick in until the volts approach three figures, its not going to work for car batteries. But that’s what a screwdriver is for right? You know, shorting the battery to check for a spark.

If you plan on building an off-grid solar panel array, you will need a multimeter with decimal-level voltage and amperage capabilities, but for encountering the errant wire or circuit box the old design works fine. In fact, you can go years on traditional battery-powered voltage detector, so toss one of those in your 72-month bag as well.


 

8. Hand-powered Grinding Wheel: From plow blades to hatchet heads, nothing makes sharpening large metal easier than moving the stone instead of the blade. Even at just a few hundred RPMs, the spinning stone will spit enough sparks to set your shop on fire if you’re not careful.

The spinning inertia of a hand-powered grinding wheel is only enough to do very small tasks. For any job of substance, the cranking must accompany the grinding so for those times, which happens to be all the time, an additional hand or two is helpful. And spinning the grinding wheel might be the most post-apocalyptic fun a kid can have.

Due to the extremely high chance that a speck of stone or metal will fly into your eye, your kid’s eye, or your dog’s eye, exercise caution by putting a transparent barrier between any living cornea and any remotely conceivable missile trajectory launched from the other side. If you need to use a hand-cranked grinding wheel then I sincerely doubt a hospital is just around the corner.


 

9. Hand-powered Air Pump: In case you didn’t know it, you can use a bicycle air pump to inflate a car tire.  It will take you a long time, but nothing is preventing it except maybe the wrong valve connector-which is an easy fix.  Motorized vehicles use relatively low pressure tires with cars, trucks and motorcycle tire manufacturers suggesting something in the 25-45 psi range. But vehicle tires are also incredibly high volume spaces to fill compared to bicycle tires.  Most bike pumps are designed for lower volume but much higher pressures, some over 200 psi.  Either way, you’re SOL if all you’ve got is one air compressor and zero electricity.  No matter how many hours of pumping it takes, a bike pump will get the job done.  Raft pumps, on the other hand, are designed very high volume but extremely low pressures like 2 psi, so don’t bother going there except for air mattresses, and rafts of course.


 

10. Scythe: In addition to being an authentic Halloween prop, the scythe is an indispensable tool when you need to mow down weeds so you can reclaim a gardening plot, or turn over a field after harvest.  At it’s simplest, a scythe is little more than a wooden shaft with a pair of handles, one in the center and one at at an end.  On the opposite end is a long narrow blade attached perpendicular to the shaft. From there it can get complex with numerous variations in shaft shape, handle design, and replaceable job-specific blades.  No matter how modern a scythe’s design becomes, it is still quite recognizable as such since its function and use have never changed, only its comfort and efficiency.

Long after the lawn mower engine has seized and the push mower’s blades are too dull and chipped to cut anything, the scythe will keep going since using only the tools listed above, you could easily build yourself a new scythe from little more than a solid branch and a leaf spring.

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Obama Has Just Given Himself the Authority to Seize Your Assets – New Executive Order

The U.S. government took steps to seize the US-based assets of Russian lawmakers and anyone else that the US government deemed complicit in supporting the Crimean secession movement.

We’ve seen the U.S. government do this in countless cases surrounding drug and financial crimes, and sometimes even against foreign leaders like Saddam Hussein and Manuel Noriega.

What makes this particular instance so unprecedented and terrifying is that President Obama went so far as to issue a new Executive Order to give himself the authorization to do so, because the laws of the United States are such that our government is not allowed to simply take someone’s bank assets, home or business without due process.

Here’s the kicker.

The new Executive Order doesn’t just apply to just Russians or foreigners. It gets blanket coverage, so even American citizens could now face asset forfeiture if their actions are deemed to be “contributing to the situation in the Ukraine.”

Be careful what you say. Be careful what you write. President Obama has just given himself the authority to seize your assets.

According to the president’s recent Executive Order, “Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Ukraine” (first reported by WND’s Aaron Klein), the provisions for seizure of property extend to “any United States person.” That means “any United States citizen, permanent resident alien, entity organized under the laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within the United States (including foreign branches), or any person in the United States.”

Via: The Ron Paul Institute

Like most Executive Orders and government legalese, the definitions for why an individual would have their assets seized under this directive are extremely broad and they could, for all intents and purposes, be used against anyone who supports Russian interests, or simply argues against those of the United States.

You can read the full Executive Order at the White House web site. The key points are noted below:

All property and interests in property that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of any United States person (including any foreign branch) of the following persons are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in: any person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State:

(i) to be responsible for or complicit in, or to have engaged in, directly or indirectly, any of the following:

(A) actions or policies that undermine democratic processes or institutions in Ukraine;

(B) actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, stability, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of Ukraine; or

(C) misappropriation of state assets of Ukraine or of an economically significant entity in Ukraine

This new Executive Order has crossed a very dangerous line. It’s one that turns the notions of property rights and due process upside down by effectively bypassing the U.S. Constitution.

While we’re sure the President and his staff would argue that such a law would never be used against Americans who are protected by free speech, the fact is that the Executive Branch now believes it has the self-manifested authority to target any individual who engages in activities that undermine US interests abroad or at home.

If a President of the United States believes he has the authority to make it illegal for you to provide support to Russia by way of political commentary, charitable donations or other methods, could he also use similar directives to push forward other agendas?

President Obama has already re-authorized an E.O. giving him the ability to seize farms, food, processing plants, energy resources, transportation, and skilled laborers during national emergency.

The next Executive Order could come in the form of restrictions on firearms advocacy or target those who speak out against policies like government mandated health care. All it would take is the declaration of a national emergency and they can essentially do as they please.

Is it prudent to give a single person the ability to force such actions down the throats of the American people without Congressional oversight or Judicial review?

 

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Via: shtfplan


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Cellulitis: An Epidemic in a Collapse




Medical Preparedness and Collapse Medicine

Hey Prepper Nation,

In a collapse situation, we will be required to perform many outdoors activities we are not used to. We’ll be chopping wood, making fires, and doing various chores that have the potential for injury.
Simple injuries like cuts and minor burns will be more common, and so will complications when those wounds fail to heal correctly.  One of the most common complications will be infection.

How Can I Prevent Infection?

Despite everything you have done to care for a wound, there is a chance that an infection will occur.  Infection in the soft tissues below the level of the skin (epidermis) is referred to as “cellulitis”.  Below the epidermis, the main layers of soft tissue are the dermis (you’ve seen this area when you scraped your knee as a kid), the subcutaneous fat, and the muscle layers. Cellulitis is significant to Preppers because it will be very commonly seen in a collapse. Although preventable, the sheer number of cuts, scrapes and burns will make it one of the most prevalent medical problems. This infection can easily reach the bloodstream, and, without antibiotics, can cause a life-threatening condition known as sepsis.  Once sepsis has set in, inflammation of the spinal cord (meningitis) or bony structures (osteomyelitis) can further complicate the situation.

The bacteria that can cause cellulitis are on your skin right now.  Normal inhabitants of the surface of your skin include Staphylococcus (staph) and Streptococcus (strep).  They do no harm until the skin is broken.  Then, they can invade deeper layers where they are not supposed to be normally.  Inflammation occurs as a result.  The injured area becomes red, warm and tender to the touch.

Conditions that will be likely to cause cellulitis:

         Cracks or peeling skin between the toes

         History of varicose veins/poor circulation

         Injuries that cause a break in the skin

         Insect bites and stings, animal bites, or human bites

         Ulcers from chronic illness, such as diabetes

         Use of steroids or other medications that affect the immune system

         Wounds from previous surgery

         Intravenous drug use

The symptoms and signs of cellulitis are:

         Discomfort/pain in the area of infection

         Fever and Chills

         Exhaustion (Fatigue)

         General ill feeling (Malaise)

         Muscle aches (myalgia)

         Heat in the area of the infection

         Drainage of pus/cloudy fluid from the area of the infection

         Redness, usually spreading towards torso

         Swelling in the area of infection (causing a sensation of tightness)

         Foul odor coming from the area of infection

Other, less common, symptoms that can occur with this disease:

         Hair loss at the site of infection

         Joint stiffness caused by swelling of the tissue over the joint

         Nausea and vomiting

The treatment of cellulitis usually involves the use of antibiotics; these can be topical, oral or intravenous.  Most cellulitis will retreat and disappear after a 10 – 14 day course of therapy with medications in the penicillin, erythromycin, or cephalosporin (Keflex) families.  Many of these are available in veterinary form without a prescription (see our various articles on antibiotics).  Acetominophen (Tylenol) or Ibuprofen (Advil) are useful to decrease discomfort.  Warm water soaks have been used for many years along with elevation of infected extremities for symptomatic relief.  Over several days, you should see an improvement.  It would be wise to complete the full 10-14 days of antibiotics to prevent any recurrences.

In a collapse situation, it’s important to be especially careful to wear eye and hand protection. Any injury has the potential to be life-threatening in a situation when modern medical care is not available.

 

 

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Via: doomandbloom


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E-Bomb: The Electronic Weapon That Can Make a Plane “Disappear”

Over a dozen nations have now mobilized search teams for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. The mysterious disappearance has left investigators all over the world wondering what could have happened. This is a huge investigation, as evidenced by the fact that China has re-tasked ten satellites to search for the wreckage, suggesting that the People’s Republic really wants to get to the bottom of what happened here.

There is no debris to be found. The black box, which is supposed to be indestructible in a large explosion and should broadcast a homing signal for up to 30 days, has gone dark. Moreover, INTERPOL is looking into several passengers who boarded the plane using false passports, and whose tickets were reportedly purchased by an unknown Iranian benefactor.

Several theories have emerged as to what could have caused the flight to “vanish” out of thin air. None of them are, as of yet, conclusive.

We can probably rule out a mid-air explosion, because something like that would likely have left instruments operational for long enough that readings would have been transmitted back to flight controllers. Likewise, there would be a fairly wide debris field had such an explosion occurred at such a high altitude.

Terrorism has not been ruled out, but traditional methods, including a hi-jacking, seem unlikely (remember those reinforced cockpit doors?).

It is certainly possible that search teams are just looking in the wrong place and the plane could be found in coming hours or days.

However, as noted by Mike Adams, the idea of an advanced military weapon of some sort is certainly within the realm of possibility. We know our Defense Department, as well as the militaries of other countries, are always hard at work developing new war-making technologies.

One such advanced weapons system has come to public light in recent years and as recently as two days prior to the disappearance of flight 370 Senator Ted Cruz mentioned it in a followup to his CPAC speech:

“When Iran describes Israel as the Little Satan, and America as the Great Satan, we have every interest to make sure they don’t acquire the weaponry to kill millions of Americans.” Cruz imagined a nightmare scenario in which Iran detonated a bomb over “Tel Aviv or New York or Los Angeles.” Detonated here, the effects of an EMP attack could kill “tens of millions of Americans.”

We know for a fact that China, North Korea, Russia and the United States have developed what are dubbed Super-EMP Weapons. These types of weapons require nuclear fuel and must be detonated over or near the target area. The secondary effect of this nuclear detonation is an electro-magnetic pulse. Deployed properly, for example 200 miles over the state of Kansas, such a weapon could literally wipe out every electronic system from coast to coast.

It is this possibility that prompted investigators to contact the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organisation yesterday, so they understand that this could well be the type of weapons used.

Experts at Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty have been asked to see if they detected an explosion at high altitude of the missing Malaysian Airlines plane.

Lassina Zerbo, executive director of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO) told a news conference the organisation used “infrasound” – or infrasonic sensors – to monitor the earth mainly for atmospheric nuclear explosions. (source)

More than likely, the infrasound tests won’t yield any result. For starters, it would be quite difficult to sneak a suit-case nuclear weapon onto an airplane. Second, a space or air explosion would have quickly been detected by military monitoring systems operated by the U.S., China and Russia.

The other possibility is one that is often not discussed, yet has emerged as a highly effective military system in recent years. This involves the use of a non-nuclear electro magentic pulse weapon.

Weapons designers specializing in high-energy physics can now create electromagnetic pulses without going into outer space. One approach involves harnessing the force of a conventional explosion. Others are simply just modifications of radar, which bounces pulses of energy off aircraft in flight, vehicles on the ground, and other objects.

Crank up the power and you have an EMP weapon, ready to point at the computers of your favorite enemy.This knowledge has set off a new arms race. Whether fitted into cruise missiles or parked at the side of the road in a van, non-nuclear EMP weapons have the potential to devastate the electronic systems of areas as large as a city or as small as a selected building, all without being seen, heard, or felt by a single soul.

It is a dream come true for any and all terrorists.

Sound far-fetched? It did not in 1993 to the owners of automobiles parked about 300 meters from a U.S. Defense Contractor’s EMP generator test site at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. Their alternators and electronic engine controls were accidentally fried by a pulse during classified field trials.

Source: Military Intelligence Professional Bulletin

The following provides an explanation for how these weapons work. What we know about the Flight 370 disaster suggests that if this was an act of terrorism it could have been executed using a NNEMP:

NNEMP generators can be carried as a payload of bombs, cruise missiles (such as the CHAMP missile) and drones, with diminished mechanical, thermal and ionizing radiation effects, but without the political consequences of deploying nuclear weapons.


The electromagnetic pulse from NNEMP weapons must come from within the weapon, while nuclear weapons generate EMP as a secondary effect. These facts limit the range of NNEMP weapons, but allow finer target discrimination. The effect of small e-bombs has proven to be sufficient for certain terrorist or military operations. Examples of such operations include the destruction of electronic control systems critical to the operation of many ground vehicles and aircraft.

We know for a fact that these e-bombs have been built and tested by our own military. Unlike nuclear-based EMP weapons, these devices can be small and compact versions can actually be created with basic Do-It-Yourself kits. They can be deployed on drones, planes and missiles. They can be specifically targeted at cities, buildings or even vehicles. Thus, it is possible that such a device was used to take down Flight 370.

For the skeptics out there, watch the following video of a do-it-yourself homemade e-bomb being used to short-circuit a cell phone:

 

 

In this video, another homemade e-bomb is used to disable various electronics. Note that the rudimentary device looks to have an effective range of roughly 10 – 15 yards:

 

 

Now consider what a rogue terror organization or black ops team could do with a multi-million dollar budget.

Harping back to the Iranian connection, is it possible that a small capacity non-nuclear EMP weapon was smuggled on board the airplane, perhaps in common electronic devices, and triggered mid-flight?

That an unknown man named “Ali” purchased tickets for his friends at the last minute to the cheapest destination available, is highly suspect and is indicative of terrorism. An incident involving a man with a similar profile occurred at Amsterdam airport when the Christmas underwear bomber was allowed onto the plane – without a passport.

We’re not necessarily suggesting Iran is behind this, but it sure is an easy story to sell.

Insofar as the effects themselves, a non-nuclear EMP could well explain how a plane, from one second to the next, simply vanishes without a trace.

  • There would be no large debris field because the plane would have fallen right out of the sky, so instead of a search area of square miles, we’d be looking at mere yards, a difficult find in a huge ocean.
  • The homing device on the black box, which as far as we can tell is not shielded against an EMP blast, would, just as the planes instrumentation and communications equipment, short circuit and become inoperable.
  • No explosions or missile signature would have been detected by monitoring systems

While this theory is far from conclusive, it makes as much sense as any being proposed.

If this was the kind of weapon used, then it could have been a “dry run” for something much bigger, like a coordinated attack involving many more planes in the future.

Or, as highlighted by American Everyman, we can just go with the official story per the mainstream media:

So, right on cue, in the absence of a logical thesis, the mainstream media along with “high ranking unnamed sources” are starting to float ridiculousness as the solution.

Officials investigating the disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines jetliner with 239 people on board suspect it may have disintegrated in mid-flight, a senior source said on Sunday, as Vietnam reported a possible sighting of wreckage from the plane. Reuters

Yes, there you have it, it may have just vaporized itself in mid-air for no apparent reason.

Vaporized? Gone? Nothing remained of this 600,000 pound jumbo jet?

The notion that an e-bomb was responsible is much more likely than vaporization.

And that is a much more terrifying thought to consider.

 

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Via: shtfplan


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The End of Your World As You Know It

Guest post by P.Henry

As adults, we are expected by society to be mature enough to take care of a few basic but important things; namely ourselves and anyone we have responsibility for. Responsibility is a word that I use frequently on the Prepper Journal blog to describe my sense of duty to others. I feel a sense of duty to take care of and love my wife, children and family. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t something I look at as a chore that I begrudgingly do, but I look at this responsibility as a higher valued aspect of my job as a human in some respects. Anyone can go through life only thinking about themselves and how they feel, what they want or need. When you take responsibility for someone else, you are placing them and their needs above yours even if just for a relatively temporary period of time. Your friends, neighbors and even complete strangers could briefly fall into your sphere of responsibility if the right situation allows, and you would offer them your time, compassion, energy or resources in some way over your own immediate needs or concerns. This trait is in most of us to differing amounts at different times and I think prepping is another example of being responsible.

You might be prepping for yourself or your entire community. You could be getting ready for an economic collapse, a global pandemic or the renewed threat of nuclear war. There are people preparing to survive natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanoes, solar Flares and polar shifts. Even more common occurrences like an extended illness or the loss of a job can be motivating factors and just as worthwhile reasons to prepare. People from all walks of life, races, countries and beliefs are preparing for the end of the world as we know it. But in order to be able to start this journey of becoming prepared you might have to begin by going through the end of your world as you know it first.

You have to wake up first

Many of you reading this have already been making plans for how to survive any number of different scenarios with your family for years, but there are so many more who are just now sensing that tingling in the back of their brain. For those new to prepping, you might have seen or lived through recent events that proved to you how your life might have been better with some simple precautions. For others, your spidey sense is going off and you may not quite know why, but you feel that something bad is coming that you need to prepare for. This is what happened to me back in 2007/2008. I had a gnawing feeling in the back of my mind that wouldn’t go away so I started researching various topics on the internet. One thing led to another and my viewpoint of the world and more importantly, my sense of responsibility to my family changed. My initial research started at a high level but ended up going in a myriad of directions. From basic home safety tips to deep conspiracies and the stuff that most people laugh at. The end result was that learning and research evolved into a greater appreciation for just how fragile our society is. For you reading this, your reason could be completely different. Anything that trips your trigger to wake up to the fact that life isn’t always bed of roses. We don’t all have happy endings and some of the things you have been told, might not be true. It’s time to wake up Alice.

Don’t believe in conspiracies? No problem, you can still be a hard core prepper or someone who simply takes steps to protect and provide for their family and hold your head just as high as anyone else. You don’t have to believe in anything other than this one simple fact. You and you alone are going to be responsible for taking action to provide for your own survival no matter what happens.

Any threat you imagine from zombies all the way down to that lost job will work for this exercise. No matter what you think is possible, this much is almost certain and that is that neither FEMA, the National Guard, Navy Seals, your police, the neighbors, your family, the Avengers or the X-Men; none of them can be counted on to help you in a real emergency as quickly as you will need them to. You have to take responsibility now, for taking care of yourself and that means looking at the world differently.

The most overused (but very appropriate) example of this is from the movie The Matrix. The lead character Neo must make a choice between finally seeing the truth around him (waking up) or going back to a false reality that keeps him safe and secure (or so we think). I don’t mean to imply that we are all living in pods with our brains hooked to a computer, but the metaphor of waking up is pretty similar in my opinion.

To start with, you have to stop thinking that any organization or government and by that I mean any bureaucracy at all is going to be able to take care of you if a disaster happens. You don’t have to look very hard to see example after example of people who when faced with a real tragedy were forced to rely on themselves. Help may or may not have eventually arrived, but I guarantee it was not speedy. In hurricanes, floods, wars, conflicts, famines, uprisings, whatever situation you want to point to I can show you how a blind reliance on any government agency to fix any problem, bring quick relief or to save you was a futile hope. I am not talking about the US solely either. Look at the governments of other countries and you will see the same thing. When all hell breaks loose, you have to look out for yourself. The sooner you accept this as reality, the sooner you will be able to effectively take steps to take responsibility for yourself.

What you should do

Learn – Everything you do should begin with a learning component. If you want to learn about prepping, then the Prepper Journal certainly has a lot of information that you can use to get a decent understanding and make plans. There are tons of additional sites out there and information in our resources section that can help as well. Get up from in front of the TV and start learning about potential issues that could affect your family. Research your area and learn about geographic threats that might be around you but you didn’t know about. How close do you live to any kind of power plants? Are there military bases near you? Do you live in a flood zone? Is there a chemical plant that produces possibly dangerous compounds near your town?

Learning can also be in the form of skills that can help your family. This could be skills that could save a life like an EMT course. It could be skills to defend yourself or your family. It could be skills that would increase your ability to take care of your family if you suffered a layoff. This might mean that you don’t watch Dancing with the Stars every night, but I think that is OK.

Take action – Once you understand a little about the types of things you think are valid to prepare for, start with a plan. This doesn’t have to be complicated; I started by writing down a list of items on a notebook. Some of these items were simple to accomplish, others took time but writing that list gave me something to look to and check off as I made progress towards my goal of having everything on that list covered.

Start with the basics of Water, Food, Shelter and Security and build from there. Just having a basic supply of food and water for your family could be the difference between life and death, but don’t think that a gallon of water, some pop-tarts and a flashlight are all you need to be prepared. As you learn about the additional threats you are preparing for, increase your plans to be able to sustain longer duration events and that will further ensure your families ability to weather whatever you go through. This might require you to get organized and proactively look at elements in your life that need improvement like exercise. Action usually changes something.

Teach others – Getting back to that responsibility topic I started with. Once you have made a plan and started on your path to getting prepared, you need to share what you know with others. We all have a responsibility to take care of those around us and it is far easier to teach someone what you know so that they can do the same work as you than it is to plan for taking care of them too. Start by talking to close friends and extended family to broach subjects like this. We always seem to be having some weather event that knocks out power and disrupts life for people so there are plenty of examples of how being prepared could be a great thing. Don’t be afraid to talk about this because it is simple common sense. You don’t have to share the Matrix movie with anyone if you don’t want to. That will be our little secret…

You may find that your world has changed from the way you used to know it. You may look at events differently and take information and use it differently because you will be proactively thinking about how you as the responsible person for your family will need to act, or when the time comes, will be ready to act. I am glad I took the red pill and I think you will be too. I am pretty confident that if you are prepared to take care of your family, they will really appreciate it in the end as well.

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

Via: theprepperjournal


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China’s Preferred Weapon – The Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP)

Battles are waged on the battlefield and on the high seas and may take hours. Skirmishes in the air are measured in minutes.

The next major battle the US and its allies will see may only take 200 nanoseconds. And sensitive electronics aren’t the only things destroyed. The human body can by damaged as well.

The electromagnetic pulse (EMP) effect was discovered during the Star Fish Prime nuclear test in July of 1962. Even though the missile detonated at a height of 680 miles above sea level, 898 miles away in Hawaii, 300 streetlights were disabled, setting off numerous burglar alarms and damaging a telephone company microwave link.

In an article “Electromagnetic pulse bombs are Chinese ace”, written in Chinese, author Lou Xiaoqing explains the People’s Liberation Army’s goals for using the electromagnetic pulse weapon as a one-two punch to incapacitate Taiwan forces, as well as disable American ships in the area.

First Punch

Dong Feng 21 Missile used to deliver electromagnetic pulse weapons

The first punch would to disable non-hardened electronics and command/control centers. The EMP is attractive to militaries because of the following reasons (DDR&E, 1997):

  • Speed of light, all weather attack
  • Area coverage of multiple targets
  • Selected levels of combat
  • Minimum damage in politically sensitive environments
  • Simplified pointing and tracking
  • Deep magazines and low operating cost.

The conventional EMP weapons are the known as the Explosively Pumped Flux Compression Generators (FCG) which is capable of producing electrical energy of tens of mega joules in ten to hundreds of microseconds of time in a relatively small package,and the Explosive Driven Magneto Hydrodynamic Generators (MHD), which uses an ionized gas or plasma moving through a magnetic field to produce an electric current perpendicular to the direction of the field and the conductor motion. By using a self-excited iron core copper magnet, a magnetic field of 5 to 6 Tesla is generated.

The Commission to Assess the Threat from High Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) conferred with Russian Generals Vladimir Beolus And Viktor Slipchenko, who stated that Russia designed an “enhanced EMP” nuclear weapon; that Russian, Chinese, and Pakistani scientists are working in North Korea to enable that country to develop an EMP weapon in the near future, and that the North Koreans constituted a grave threat to the world when armed with an EMP.

Second Punch

The second punch is the health effects of exposure to the EMP.

Chinese researchers in 2005 conducted a study to assess the influence of EMP on heart cells, or cardiomyocytes.

From the study:

After irradiation, the cardiomyocytes pulsated slower or stop, the cells conformation was abnormal, the cells viability declined, and the percentage of apoptosis and necrosis increased significantly (P< 0.01). The cell membrane had pores unequal in size, and lost its penetration character. The concentration of Na+, K+, Ca2+, Cl-, Mg2+, Ca2+ and P3+ in cell culture medium increased significantly (P< 0.01). and the concentration of Ca2+ in cells ([Ca2+]i) decreased significantly (P<0.01). The results indicated that cardiomyocytes are susceptible to non-ionizing radiation. Pulse electromagnetic field can induce cardiomyocytes electroporation, and can do great damage to cells conformation, structure and function. Electroporation is one of the most critical mechanisms to explain the athermal effects of electromagnetic radiation.

The study shows that the heart will be unable to function as well as it should, and complications would include death or serious damage of the heart, and by extension, death to those exposed to an EMP.

Lou Xiaoqing’s article revealed some further disturbing information. If China decided to use the EMP against Taiwan, the detonation point would only be approximately 18 miles in altitude. Any any higher, and they run the risk of damaging civilian and military equipment on the Chinese mainland.

This close proximity to the blast places the people of Taiwan in jeopardy based on the above referenced study. Would it be a 100% kill rate? No. But it would lead to some long term disability in those most susceptible, such as the elderly, the young, and the unborn.

The other disturbing point that Xiaoqing made was:

“[China] is attracted to the fight against the U.S. military after the effective range, using them as a means of surprise [attack] or as a [intimidation factor] United States [will] abandon the use of aircraft carrier battle groups to defend Taiwan

The bottom line is that the United States if China decided to [use] force to recover Taiwan, the U.S. military will likely prevent incidents. Now, the U.S. military is too fragmented. And economic downturn, which makes the ” help Taiwan defend itself ” becomes difficult.”

It seems that Xiaoqing understands the Western mindset too well. For our military has been neutered by the “feel good” politics and the Keynesian economic model has left us broke and penniless.

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

Via: thedailysheeple


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Record-Breaking Meteorite Crash on Moon Sparks Brightest Lunar Explosion Ever

Meteors strike the earth 1000’s of times a day, and can be sized anywhere from a grain of sand to a monster 10,000 ton 65 foot wide rock that entered the atmosphere over Russia last year. When a meteor strikes the ground, it then becomes a meteorite, and the planet is covered by old, and older craters. The most famous is the Arizona Barrington meteor crater, which was created millions of years ago, and is over a mile wide. The technology to see strikes on other planets continues to increase, and we see our nearest neighbor get hit regularly in real time, with occasional videos such as this one. Just pause to think about these kinds of threats that can ruin our day in a heartbeat, without any warning…just as the Russian strike happened.

The high-speed impact of a wayward space rock on the surface of the moon last year triggered the brightest lunar explosion ever seen, scientists say.

Video footage of the record-breaking meteorite strike on the moon, which occurred on Sept. 11, 2013 and was unveiled today (Feb. 24), shows a long flash that was almost as bright as the North Star Polaris. That means the boulder-sized meteorite’s lunar crash could have been visible to anyone on Earth who happened to be staring up at the moon at 8:07 p.m. GMT, weather permitting.

“At that moment I realized that I had seen a very rare and extraordinary event,” Jose Madiedo, a professor at the University of Huelva, said in a statement. Madiedo witnessed the collision using two moon-watching telescopes in the south of Spain that are part of the Moon Impacts Detection and Analysis System, or MIDAS observatory.

The space rock hit at a staggering speed of 37,900 mph (61,000 km/h), gouging out a new crater roughly 131 feet (40 meters) wide in an ancient lava-filled lunar basin known as Mare Nubium, Madiedo and colleagues said. The scientists think the boulder behind the crash was about 880 lbs. (400 kg) and measured between 2 and 4.5 feet (0.6 and 1.4 meters) in diameter.

If a space rock this size hit the Earth, it might create some spectacular fireball meteors, but it likely would not pose a threat to people on the ground, researchers explained. But the moon lacks an atmosphere like the one enshrouding our planet, making it quite vulnerable to incoming asteroids.

Read more of this article and find other worthy stories at space.com

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

 

Via: survivalring


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5 Naturally Occurring Salt Sources For When the SHTF

Salt is a life-saving, multifunctional preparedness item that all households should have stored for long term emergencies. This essential prep contains natural medicinal sources and also serves other tasks as well, including being used as a natural electrolyte, meat curing, assists in tanning hides, and can even be added to boost soap recipes.

Our Survival Depends on Sodium

Our bodies are dependent on small amounts of sodium to perform biological tasks. Specifically, sodium helps muscles and nerves work properly by assisting muscular contraction and transmission of nerve signals. It also helps regulate blood pressure and volume. MayoClinic.com reports having the proper amount of sodium in the body maintains an appropriate overall balance of bodily fluids. Sodium also helps sustain a regular blood pH level, an important indicator of health.

As previously mentioned, salt in small amounts is good for the body. The amount of sodium you should consume daily varies, however, based on a number of health factors.

Table salt is the most common dietary source and contains 40 percent sodium.

On average, one teaspoon of table salt contains 2,300 milligrams of sodium, which is the recommended maximum intake of sodium per healthy adult per day, according to government nutrition experts.

However, there are ways to get your sodium from means other than table salt. From a preparedness standpoint, salt can be found naturally in many different substances.

5 Naturally Occurring Salt Sources

1. Sea Water – Louis and Clark spent many days boiling down salt water to get salt. Salt water on average carries about 35 grams of salt. 2 tablespoons of seawater is your recommended daily salt intake. You want to mix this with at least 1/3rd with fresh water before intake (or your body cannot absorb it properly due to the sodium concentration). Or, you can do what Louis Clark did and make your own sea salt.

2. Blood. Ok, I’m not telling you to go vampire, but there are traces of salt in fresh blood. Those of you who are butchering your own meat can make blood sausage, a European specialty.

3. Fresh foods. That’s right, folks, some fresh foods that are nutrient dense also possess naturally occurring amounts of sodium. Although the vast majority of fruits and vegetables, in their natural state, do not contain high levels of sodium; there are a few exceptions. Some variety of beans are good sources of sodium. For example, 100 g of mung beans contain about 820 mg of sodium, whereas 60 g of garbanzo beans contains 850 mg of sodium.

Green leafy vegetables and roots naturally contain trace amounts of salt, as well. Some of the top contenders include Swiss chard, which contains about 158 mg per 1/2 cup; beet, collard, dandelion, mustard and turnip greens contain about 174 mg of sodium per 1/2 cup; artichoke hearts contain about 80 mg per 1/2 cup, while spinach contains about 80 mg per 1/2 cup. Some other vegetables moderate amounts of sodium are peanuts, lemons, celery.

Further, vegetables and roots that grow in salty ocean water, such as seaweed and sea kelp have natural salts, as well as, omega 3 and essential amino acids and other nutritional benefits.

4. Edible roots. Some roots, such as the root from the hickory three contain higher amounts of sodium. Parsley root is an exceptional root with moderate amounts of sodium. Further, red and gold beets contain around 65 mg of sodium per beet, and make a viable salt substitute. Similar to celery, potatoes have trace amounts of sodium as do carrots which possess 50 mg of sodium.

5. Mineral deposits  – Many preppers have discussed purchasing salt licks typically used for livestock to use for long term emergencies. Although they are cheap and contain 50 lbs. of compressed salt, there is some concern with this however, due to the binders in the salt lick. Further, salt licks contains additives such as selenium, magnesium, iodine and other mineral amounts that may not be safe for humans. In this case, it may be better to purchase salt licks to lure deer and other wild animals for hunting purposes. Although this is typically forbidden in many states, in long term disasters, I imagine that those laws will be null and void.

Naturally occurring salt deposits are often found near springs and streams. However, in many areas there are natural salt caverns.


This could give a greater advantage to accessing salt for long term survival – if you are lucky enough to live near these areas. Salt Lake City, UT has a great advantage to accessing salt thanks to the naturally salt water lake present.

To Conclude

Salt in an important preparedness item to store for long term disasters. Along with its importance from a biological standpoint, it will also serve multiple functions in a SHTF environment. Knowing where to find naturally occurring sodium, sodium-rich foods or how to harvest it from sea water will give you a greater advantage for survival.

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

Via: readynutrition


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Plan Your Escape Routes Before Disaster Strikes

Many emergencies will either leave you trapped at home, or else are best weathered in the shelter of your own abode, where you have resources of food, water, shelter, defense, and a familiar habitat to fall back on. Sometimes, however, a disaster can occur that obliges us to flee far and fast, and you should have escape routes planned in advance in case this happens.

Examples of disasters that might oblige you to run for your life include major hurricanes, the advance of an enormous forest fire into your town or the city suburbs where you live, or nuclear contamination (such as a leak or explosion at a local nuclear power plant). Evacuation orders can also be issued in advance of hurricanes or the possible threat of tsunamis.

In a situation like this, having several options for getting yourself clear of the area will raise your chances of successfully leaving the area many times over. It is not enough to have one, obvious route – that is the route everyone else will take, too. It may become clogged by vehicles to the point where it’s impassible, or the emergency itself might damage it or close it in some way.

For example, if the main escape route from your town happens to run straight through a forest which is being ravaged by an advancing forest fire, then obviously a different exit is needed.

Find Multiple Escape Routes

Finding good escape routes from your area is not too difficult, since few towns are “dead ends” that a road runs to and stops. Both main roads and back roads provided ready egress in various directions. However, it behooves you to explore your area, with the aid of both your car and a good road map, to learn these potential routes thoroughly.

Drive the routes several times, and take a “refresher drive” every few months. You don’t want to take a wrong turn and end up blundering around on unfamiliar back roads as the tsunami rolls in.

Your escape routes should be chosen both to be as easy to follow as possible under adverse conditions (at night in the rain, for example) and to lead somewhere.

Preferably, they should go to a large highway that will give you more options, rather than a tangle of back roads that will take many hours to finally let you reach somewhere where you can drive effectively away from the danger. You should also practice a few night drives on your routes to prepare you for an early-morning evacuation.

Ideally, you should find escape routes that go in all four cardinal directions, so that you’ll have several getaway options regardless of the direction the danger is coming from. However, the arrangement of topography and roads often makes that impossible.


The main thing is to have several routes available, with at least two of them leading in very different directions, to keep your escape options as open as may be.

One of the vital, but often overlooked, matters that is involved in emergency preparedness is acquiring a good set of maps for yourself. In fact, if possible, you should keep one set in your house and one in each of your cars, so that you will always have these maps on hand regardless of whether disaster catches you at home or on the road.

Get a Good Set of Maps

You should get an up to date road atlas, a detailed road map for your state, and a topographical map of your area. GPS (global positioning system) type devices are very handy, and you can certainly get these as well, but you shouldn’t rely on them. GPS systems are heavily dependent on other people to function, as well as data provided from remote locations.  A disaster can easily disrupt the necessary communication and turn your GPS into an inert, static filled paperweight.

You should get a general road atlas of the United States so that you will be ready to find routes and get to your destination regardless of where you are in the country. Whether you are just going to the next county or traveling across many states in search of safety (or to return in haste to try to rescue relatives in a disaster-struck area), an up to date atlas will let you plot out a route, and correct for wrong turns as quickly and effectively as possible if needs be.

Read more of this article and find other worthy stories here at doomsdaynews.com

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

Via: survivalring


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