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In this episode of the Survival Medicine Hour with Joe and Amy Alton, aka Dr. Bones and Nurse Amy, the topics include all you need to know about face masks as medical supplies, measles as a survival infection, and natural remedies to deal with respiratory infections. To listen in, click the link below:
Wishing you the best of health in good times Or bad…
Joe and Amy Alton
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A credible source of mine who works for G4S relayed the following information to me.
The Anglo Arms Nomad Bushcraft Knife is undoubtedly one of the best value for money bushcraft knives available to preppers. This really is a preppers ‘must h…
WARNING! BAD LANGUAGE* Just a rant. Enjoy. Part two of a two part fume.
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Mark Bates reviews Josef Seibel ‘Wayne’ mens velcro shoe for the ShoesGB network. Josef Seibel ‘Wayne’ available from www.shoesgb.co.uk.
A quick overview of a few of the folding plugs and chargers available on the UK market. My chosen plug right now is the Mu Plug.
I created this video with the YouTube Video Editor (http://www.youtube.com/editor)
What are the 5 items you would bring to an SHTF situation? Van Prepper‘s 5 ITEMS YOU NEED IN SHTF! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fl-NqdFc_qQ Prepper Potpou…
Welcome to this week’s Survival Buzz with an update on my own preps and announcements from the Backdoor Survival blog.
How is everyone doing this week? If it has been anything like mine, you are firing on all cylinders as you begin to realize it is time to organize those springtime chores not the least of which is your garden.
This week I had some appointments in the big city (actually Bellevue, Washington), so while I was there, I dropped in on Wal-Mart to pick up some Arm & Hammer Washing Soda for my “Better than Good†DIY Laundry Soap. I don’t know why it is so difficult to find washing soda these days; the one thing I do know is that it is always available at Wal-Mart.
That leads me to ask whether you have started saving a ton of money by making your own laundry soap? Â I have yet to meet a single person who tried it and went back to store-bought.
While I was at Wal-Mart I picked up up a 5 year supply of mouse bait. Not everyone will agree with using mouse bait but the type I use is in the cellar area of my home making it impossible for pets or visiting children to have access. Since using this particular bait, I have not had any problems with field mice getting into my stored food.  I swear that the mice in my area are wise to traps and have learned to avoid them, even when baited with peanut butter.
Why 5 years? Did you know that the Feds are banning many varieties of d-CON as of March 31st? I discovered this quite by accident. You can read about it in this announcement: Canceling Some d-CON Mouse and Rat Control Products.  Yes, I know d-CON is highly toxic. As a prepper, sometimes we have to make difficult choices and for me, this is one of them.
While on the mainland, I also dropped in on the local farm supply store to purchase some Vet Wrap which was dirt cheap compared to the type sold for humans. Same stuff and not only that, I found some in my favorite purple color at no extra cost!
I found another shopping haven for preppers. Have you ever been to a Cash & Carry store. Holy smokes; talk about bargains in bulk foods. If you happen to live in the West, check out their locations and save yourself a ton of money. By the way, a reader recently asked me where he could purchase black eyed peas in bulk. After responding, I deleted the email so if you are reading this, check to see if there is a Cash & Carry or similar store in your locale.
Other preps this week? I downloaded my No-Nonsense Technician Class License Study Guide (which is free in PDF format) and have committed to taking the HAM radio licensimg test on April 18th when it will be given at the local library. Between now and then, my Baofeng UV-5Rs be set up so I can hit the ground running as a HAM on April 19th. In the works is a K.I.S.S. set-up guide to help out everyone who purchased a Baofeng but still has it sitting in a box, unopened and unused.
By the way, the Baofeng and the Pofung
Finally, I made a batch of DIY Cayenne Salve using cayenne pepper infused olive oil as the base. Results are mixed. It definitely is not as powerful as an essential oil salve. Before sharing, I want to use it a bit more. The last thing I want is for you to waste your time on something that may not meet your expectations.
That about covers it for me this week. Let’s move on to the rest of this week’s Buzz.
Here is reminder from Karma007 that you don’t always need a lot of money to build up your preps.
I’m a scavenger from way back, I currently help a gentleman that does Estate Sales. Whatever is leftover after the sales, I haul away to my garage. These are the things I use to trade for things I want and need for prepping.
Ask friends and family if they are throwing anything out or have items they don’t need. Most people are thrilled to get rid of stuff for free.
Network anywhere you can, place an add at the library on the bulletin board or the local grocery store, you would be surprised at the free stuff you can get.
I just acquired all the items I need to make a greenhouse, cold house for FREE.
I definitely want to give this fire starting tip from David a try. Cat tails are abundant here in Washington State.
THE BEST FIRE STARTER IN NATURE. I have been reading numerous articles from Prepper sites and have never seen anyone mention using Cattails or bulrush as a fire starter. I learned this trick at a very young age from my Grandfather. He taught me that cattails are natures gasoline. He would harvest the fluffy tops whenever we would go on hikes. With a flint stick, the fluffy cattail ignite like gasoline (without the explosion). Try it out. I get the kids to light the campfire every time we go camping.
And from Pat in Arizona:
Check if your community has a seed exchange. Phoenix, AZ has one. Not only is it an opportunity to exchange seeds you have harvested, it is a great way to exchange information. If you are near a reservation, find out if they participate in efforts to reintroduce native/heirloom plants.
Are you interested in learning more about a particular garden topic? If so, please leave a comment below. Mike Podlesny aka Mike the Gardener is here to help. I will pick one topic and Mike will write about it. For more about Mike and his Seeds of the Month Club, visit his website at Average Person Gardening.
The following article includes a giveaway for a copy of the Ultimate Dehydrator Cookbook.
And this article includes a giveaway to win one of three copies of The Gardening Notebook.
As a reminder, the deadline for all giveaway entries is 6:00 PM Pacific on Tuesdays. In addition, all winners are notified by email and have 48 hours to claim their prize or an alternate will be selected. Once selected, the names of winners are also displayed in the Rafflecopter on the original giveaway article. This usually happens on the Friday following the end of the giveaway.
Speaking of giveaways, what do you think? In addition to the Thursday Book Festival’s, I have lined up a product giveaway for each and every Friday through April so far. Winners are selected at random and indeed, some readers are very lucky and have won more than once.
For the most part, the giveaways are sponsored, but in a few cases, I am sponsoring them myself as part of my 2015 “Pay It Forward†initiative. So don’t be shy; please do enter.
2015 is bringing some updates and changes in the Mountain House
As you know, I have a fantastic relationship with the folks at Mountain House and have had the inside track on some of the changes, including a new packaging design that includes the protein content and servings size on the front of the pouch. There are also some new products that I will be telling you about next month. For a heads up you can read the press release here.
Whew, this was a long one. Believe it or not, I have more to share put I will set the rest aside for next week.
So what about you – what did you do to prep this week?
Enjoy your next adventure through common sense and thoughtful preparation!
Gaye
If you enjoyed this article, consider voting for me daily at Top Prepper Websites! In addition, SUBSCRIBE to email updates and receive a free, downloadable copy of my e-book The Emergency Food Buyer’s Guide.
Bargain Bin: As always, today I have a selection of items related to today’s article.
Baofeng UV-5R and Pofung UV-5R Ham Two Way Radio: Redundancy is the name of the game. I own two of these inexpensive HAM radios. The price is right at a tad more than $30 each. Also consider the NAGOYA Antenna for BAOFENG UV-5R and the USB Programming Cable for Baofeng UV-5R UV-3R+. Note: the Pofung was formerly known as the Baofeng UV-5R so don’t let the two similar names confuse you. You will see both for sale.  Shop price (at least that is what I would do.)
Midland 36-Mile 50-Channel FRS/GMRS Two-Way Radios
The No-Nonsense, Technician Class License Study Guide: Dan Romanchik’s guide is available for free – you can read it online of download it and save it to your computer.
Ham Radio For Dummies
D-Con Ready Mix Rat and Mouse Killer
Mule Team Borax and Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda Variety Pack
Dawn Ultra Original Scent Dishwashing Liquid: Dawn has to be one of the few household products I have been unable to duplicate myself. It is worth it to get the real thing.
Mountain House
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Shop the Emergency Essentials Monthly Specials:Â The monthly specials at Emergency Essentials feature discounts of up to 40% off sometimes a bit more.
I eat a lot of fruit (usually three whole fruits a night as a bedtime snack) and in a SHTF situation, fruits will be something I will really miss. The 6 can Fruit Harvest Combo is something I use all year round. With the grocery store a 20 mile round trip journey, I like the thought of being able to rehydrate my own fruit, in the quantity I want, at a moments notice.
Fruit Harvest Combo – Now on Sale
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Need something from Amazon (and who doesn’t)? I earn a small commission from purchases made when you begin your Amazon shopping experience here. You still get great Amazon service and the price is the same, no matter what.
Amazon has feature called Shop Amazon – Most Wished For Items. This is an easy tool for finding products that people are ‘wishing†for and in this way you know what the top products are. All you need to do is select the category from the left hand side of the screen.
The Amazon Top Most Wished For and Best Selling Outdoor Items
Emergency Preparedness Items from Amazon.com
Help support Backdoor Survival. Purchases earn a small commission and for that I thank you!
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DIGEST is one of my go-to blends for taking care of those everyday annoyances like heartburn, acid reflux, and an upset tummy caused by eating too much of the wrong thing. This is also one of the oils I stockpile for my long term first aid kit.
Spark Digest can assist you in supporting, restoring and maintaining a normal balance with your digestive system. This proprietary blend of Lemon, Spearmint, Myrrh, Fennel and Ginger is a powerful combination with specific attributes to cover a wide range of troubles.
As always, you earn an additional 10% off on the Item of the Week by using code BACKDOORSURVIVAL at checkout.
The Survival Buzz #154 by Gaye Levy first appeared on Backdoor Survival.
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This was a tragic death that could have been avoided with basic firearm safety training. If you are not familiar with the dashcam video of the New Jersey Pol…
A cracking weekend, albeit rather cold, with a bunch of fellow YouTuber’s at the great camp site, Broadstone Fisheries. [Forest Prepper] https://www.youtube….
A suggested all-clear signal for ‘Preppers’ (after the initial ‘crunch’).
The mental and emotional considerations of using lethal force to protect your home and loved ones after TEOTWAWKI is not going to be as easy, as you have imagined it.
By way of introduction, I am a retired street cop who spent his entire career on the streets of a gang-infested neighborhood in a large, inner city. I have shot people, though none died. On several occasions, I was myself shot at, and I was hit once. I want to share my thoughts and experiences with you, lest you have naïve and unrealistic ideas, which will prove counterproductive, at best, and possibly fatal.
I am not going to address a shooting incident today, when and where there is effective law and order. The venue we will address here will be strictly for a time and place where society has broken down and the rule of law no longer exists. This is only intended to address a post-apocalyptic scenario.
I know. I know. You readily say, “I won’t have any trouble at all shooting riffraff that’s coming after my food or family.†Really? Let’s explore that thought, because here’s the thing– I know you think that, and I know you believe it with all your heart, but may I suggest that a critical component that is necessarily involved in the act of shooting a human being may have been left out of your thought process? This is the potentially fatal flaw for the majority of preppers in a self-defense scenario.
First, let me say up front that while this is based on my first-hand experiences, it is also covered in much more detail in Colonel Dave Grossman’s excellent books On Combat and On Killing and also Warrior’s Mindset by Asken. All of these are MUST reading for anyone who is prepped up on guns, ammo, and attitude. Unless you have been personally involved in shootouts as a cop or firefights as a soldier, you must read these books, but I will condense some of what’s in them and add my own experiences for those who can’t or won’t read three more books.
We think and believe that we live in our conscious world; that’s wrong. We are more what our unconscious mind thinks than who we consciously think we are. Have you ever tried to break a bad habit? Have you ever tried to lose weight or get into better shape? How about making New Year’s resolutions? How did that work out for you? You lose those battles because your unconscious mind is much stronger than your conscious mind, and the unconscious one usually wins. You can make all the conscious decisions you want, but no matter how much determination and willpower you add to that if you don’t get your unconscious mind on board you will likely fail.
So when it comes to shooting another human being, you need to understand the mental and emotional dynamics involved. When cops are on the line at the range, they will consistently hit a man-sized target every time without fail. Yet, statistically on the street, they will miss 75%-80% of the time, and they will miss a target that poses a clear and present danger when they would never miss a piece of paper. Why is that? S.L.A. Marshall did extensive studies and found that during WW II, 90% of the Japanese and German soldiers that were shot by small arms fire, were shot by less than 20% of our soldiers. Please look that up if you don’t believe it, but it’s documented and indisputable. That doesn’t mean the others were cowards, because many were capable of extraordinary acts of bravery, such as running out into the face of enemy gunfire to get to an injured man, for instance. So, if they weren’t cowards and were good shots, why didn’t they shoot an enemy soldier? The now-defunct Rhodesian army pioneered the system of charging directly into the enemy when being ambushed because they took fewer casualties doing that. At the time, they had no idea why it worked, but they knew it worked. What they did figure out was that when you look into a man’s face, it’s harder to shoot him, even if he’s shooting at you. On the world’s battle fields, strewn with casualties even in ancient times, the vast majority of the slaughter came only after the enemy turned and ran. This is counter intuitive if you bought into what Hollywood has taught us, but the truth is that it’s much easier to shoot an enemy in the back than it is to shoot a man at close range in the chest or face, and fear does not change this dynamic. Most of you reading this article are going to think it’s all wrong, so I’m going to burden you with some statistics, because you need to buy into this documented phenomenon, even though Hollywood has poisoned our reasoning and our true history.
Even back to the time of Alexander the Great, in all his massive battles during which he conquered the known civilized world, he lost less than 700 men. Of the slaughter and carnage that followed, the vast majority of the enemy were smitten from behind after the battle was won. During the battle of Rorke’s Drift during the Zulu wars, the English soldiers fired continuously into the packed ranks of Zulus, literally at point blank range knowing that Zulus never take prisoners. Even a 50% hit rate would seem impossible under those circumstances, but when the bodies and the number of separate wounds were counted and the ammo used was checked, the hit rate was 13%! At the battle of Wissembourg in 1870, the dug-in French fired over 48,000 rounds into the German troops, who were advancing packed shoulder to shoulder at a slow walk in an open area, and hit 404 of them. After the battle of Gettysburg 27,574 muskets were recovered from the battlefield. Over 24,000 of those, more than 90%, were fully loaded. Over 12,000 were loaded more than once and over 6,000 were loaded between 3 and 10 times, with one being loaded 23 times. On the black powder field, a loaded weapon is the most precious of commodities, because 95% of a soldier’s time was taken up with the reloading process and only 5% actually firing. Logic and math would require that if those soldiers wanted to kill the enemy, then 95% of the those who were killed would be found with an empty weapon in some stage of being reloaded. Any weapon found fully loaded and ready to fire would have been pure gold on a battlefield, picked up, and used, which further exacerbates the evidence. What happened was that individual soldiers, who couldn’t shoot the enemy, didn’t want to be seen by their comrades doing absolutely nothing, so they occupied themselves loading over and over. During the civil war, the generals on both sides realized there was a serious problem and saw that their men were shooting too high, over the heads of the enemy. Orders went out to shoot at the knees, but that didn’t help, because poor aim was not the problem.
Sociopaths aside, your subconscious mind abhors the idea of taking a human life, for any reason. This is true, even though your conscious mind has fully grasped the need to take a life in order to save yourself or a loved one. Until I studied this, it always amazed me how many armed women were robbed, assaulted, and raped in their own homes by an intruder who took their gun and had his way with her because she couldn’t shoot. Pointing the gun straight at him, they were unable to pull the trigger. That was their unconscious mind at work. Your conscious mind may clearly see a criminal and imminent danger, but your unconscious mind sees a human being.
However, we don’t want to just shut down the unconscious mind, because in fact it can be a life saver. Any man that has been in a life-threatening situation knows about “trusting your gutâ€, and many women are alive today because of “women’s intuitionâ€. Both are the same documented phenomena with gender-specific names, but these phenomena are actually easy to explain. What they are, pure and simple, is our unconscious mind picking up on cues from our environment that we did not notice consciously, but it’s what the unconscious mind did notice. So we don’t want to shut down that valuable asset, but we do want to be able to act consciously.
There’s no purpose pointing all this out if there is no solution for the problem. However, in this case, there are. While it’s not quick or easy, the unconscious mind can be reprogrammed. If you’ve tried to lose weight chances are you either failed outright or you succeeded for a time but then gained it back. I’m talking about simply eating less. How can we fail so consistently when we want it so badly? The answer is that if your unconscious mind has a picture of you being a certain weight, it will fight to maintain stasis, because “that is youâ€. Your unconscious mind always wants to feel comfortable and will fight for that comfort.
Today, we present another entry for Round 56 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $12,000+ worth of prizes for this round include:
First Prize:
Second Prize:
Third Prize:
Round 56 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.
This ‘all-encompassing’ event will show you everything you’ve ever wanted to know when it comes to dehydrators and mylar bag sealing. I also go through a few recipes for making your very own…
COLD-HARD-FACTS, Here’s ANOTHER Video To Hate- 01-24-2015, Seems Like No One Real Is Left- I strongly urge You to heed these last few Warnings and Messages b…
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Written By Aaron Mandelkorn
What is Powering Your Prep? It’s the idea of ensuring self-reliance, security and vitality in any situation; and doing so while keeping the lights on and communication systems up and running. For many preppers and self-sufficiency enthusiasts, food and security are at the top of the list. Often the need for electricity is overlooked. At Off Grid Depot, we feel electricity should be on the top of everyone’s list. Our goal is to help people sustain reliable electricity during a grid down scenario and for this reason we have created the Top 5 Rules to Power Your Prep:
Can you create a system that both needs as little as possible but gives plenty? Can the inputs and outputs coexist in a sustainable way? There are a variety of energy options out there that can provide you with reliable electricity and the answer is often YES! Solar, wind and waterpower systems are traditional sources of options that need little from you but give back much more in return. Biomass, gasification and geothermal energy are options as well. When considering energy options it is important to look at the resources available to you, and decide which system will give you the most reward for your dollar. One way to create options is to embody a Permaculture mindset in design of your off grid energy system. Using the principles of Permaculture can lead to some creative and ultimately, sustainable means of energy use. Two principles weave perfectly into a discussion on creating options: Each Element performs multiple Functions and Each Function is supported by multiple Elements. This means that anything you are using energy for should hopefully have multiple functions that support your life, the same way that anything you get energy from should have multiple elements that support it. Utilizing some or all of the principles of Permaculture, at least in the design stage, can create many options for power generation.
If your main plan for a grid down situation is relying on a generator to power your prep you face many challenges. Have you thought about all the inputs needed to make that generator run for the long haul? How is your fuel supply? Do you have the parts necessary to repair the generator as needed? What’s the backup plan for when you run out of fuel or parts? If you think that generator is your fail safe plan for powering your location, cooking, and keeping warm or cool, think again. When that generator fails you are dead in the water unless you have a backup plan. Powering your prep means diversifying your power sources and focusing on redundancy. Every option has its pros and cons which is why diversity is key. Combining multiple power sources multiplies the pros while minimizing the cons. Typically when one source of power is lacking, another is abundant which is why backups of backups is a requirement for keeping the lights on while others are in the dark. A great example of this is combining a wind turbine and solar array to an off grid system. When the sun is shining the wind turbine typically just sits there motionless, but when the weather turns bad and the solar isn’t producing, it is often windy. You come out ahead because you have diversified your inputs and have created backups.
In terms of electrical power this is a big one. Knowing what you need is the first step in off grid power system design. Energy systems cannot produce unlimited power so it is up to you to live within the limitations of your system. Knowing what you need to power is crucial from this perspective. Being able to focus on your needs more than your wants will allow you to live comfortably with less and keep your energy system costs down. When you save money in one area you can then put it to use in another area. We all want electricity to make it comfortably through the day, but focusing on your needs will help keep your energy system small, efficient and affordable. Remember to consider all your needs like sanitation, water, communication, lighting and refrigeration. What requires power and what doesn’t? These are common examples of needs that can easily be supported by a simple off grid solar system. With enough creativity and support, off grid energy systems are even able to power the largest energy hogging homes when the grid is down. The sky really is the limit but being sensible will save you (and your funds) in the long run.
Will your power system allow for future expansion? This is a fairly obvious question, but many people fail to think ahead when it comes to their future power needs. Sure your single pole mount suffices now, but do you have the space and capacity to add onto it when another child is born or grandma moves home? Planning for expansion early on may add some up front cost but trust us, you will save in the long run. There is nothing worse than spending your money on a top of the line energy system that suffices today only to learn that it is not expandable in the future. Part of powering your prep is anticipating future power needs and building in that cushion today.
Portability vs Permanency is the very idea behind bugging in or bugging out. Do you want to have the ability to stay powered on the go? Or are you more concerned with creating a safe and powerful permanent system? Both sides of the coin have their benefits and limitations. When you stay put you can realistically build the energy system of your dreams since it and you are not going anywhere. If this is the case, go as big as you can afford since portability isn’t a concern. If you do decide to bug out you are now hit with the power vs weight dilemma. How much power do you need and will it be possible to be on the go with that system. Remember, batteries, solar panels and inverters are heavy and although we offer some great portable systems you ultimately need to decide how much weight you can carry and how you plan to transport it. If you must go portable we recommend going for the largest system you can reasonably transport. That ultra deluxe 400LB battery pack will do very little for you when you have to leave it behind so be reasonable and realistic about what you can transport. Bugging out means only taking what is necessary for survival and this should extend to your energy systems as well.
Regardless of your method of prepping, Off Grid Depot offers a variety of products and system packages designed to power your prep. Our systems can be small and portable for powering your bug out vehicle or large and elaborate, capable of powering the largest off grid compound. Feel free to contact us at www.offgriddepot.biz and pick our brain any time. We have the products and experience you need to power your prep.
Originally from South Florida, Aaron Mandelkorn escaped the zombies and now calls rural Central Colorado home. He is the Owner and Solar Expert at Renewable Energy Outfitters, helping people go Off Grid with solar, wind and micro hydro energy systems. His most recent acquisition is a 1983 Conversion Van that he is turning into a undercover bug out vehicle, fit for his family of three. Always happy to talk energy, Aaron can be reached at Off Grid Depot, www.offgriddepot.biz, where he offers a variety of products and system packages designed to power your prep.Â
The post Master These 5 Rules to Power Your Prep appeared first on American Preppers Network.
With the Superbowl upon us, we are all searching for delicious foods and dips to serve our friends at Super Bowl parties.  Many of us also have healthy resolutions this year and it can be hard to find alternatives that don’t use fatty sour creams or things loaded with carbs. So I decided to try using Chobani’s Plain Greek Yogurt as a base for this recipe. Stay with me, you will never know this is made with yogurt, I promise.
Keeping with the spirit of my blog this year, I decided to get creative and come up with something that has a little ‘kick’ to it! (Pun intended) This dip can be served with crackers, chips, vegetables, or used as a sandwich spread. We even used it on our tacos and burritos the other night!
Dry spice mix Ingredients: Most of these ingredients can be found in your cabinet already.
We serve this amazingly easy to prepare dip with roasted garlic and tomato crackers and summer sausage. There are so many possibilities with this dip. Please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas in the comment section below.
Keepin It Spicy,
(Note: Store your leftover dry mix in the refrigerator for up to 3 months so you can use it again or just double up the recipe and make a huge bowl)
The post Kickin’ Jalapeño Game Day Dip! appeared first on American Preppers Network.
500 Subscribers!! Thank You!! If you’d like to enter the drawing for the book, How To Find God, just comment or PM me that you want to be in the drawing!! Al…
Expert county sheriff’s advice to help you to keep your family aware, prepared, safe and protected. Listen in as Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn delivers rock-solid …
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Walking from Donard Park through Tollymore, we made our way to the Trassey Track where we camped that night. The next day was spent exploring Ben Crom and wa…
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For a lot of potential wilderness survival emergencies, a carbine of one variation or another chambered for a versatile hunting/defense cartridge seems especially practical in my view. With such a weapon you’d have rifle-like accuracy and power in a comparatively compact, portable platform, and for…
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This is an awesome info-graphic we were given permission to share with you all by ukoakdoors.co.uk. 
Hope you enjoy!!
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The post What To Eat in the Wilderness Info-graphic appeared first on American Preppers Network.
barbie, barbie games, barbie dress up games, barbie movies, barbie dream house barbie cooking games, real life barbie, barbie doll, barbie dress up, barbie v…
Ryan Sommerville, Westminster This presentation is a brief summary of current work by the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team, The World Bank, UN-HABITAT and oth…
Every prepper knows what it’s like to pack your bug out bag and think of all the scenarios when you might need it, from the common to the most outlandish. But the truth is we hope we never actually have to use our bug out bag. Just because we prepare for these situations and know what to do doesn’t mean we want or hope for them to happen. We’re just aware of the possibilities and know how important it is to be ready.
Hopefully, you won’t ever need your E/PAK or bug out bag. However, being prepared for such an eventuality is good for easing your mind.
My personal desire is that I’ll never need my E/PAK for an emergency. Yet, it will always be in a special location in my home near a protected exit, filled with all the things I’d need for hunkering down when a natural disaster, such as a wind, ice, or snowstorm, or a people-caused disaster causes a power outage.
Lots of people tell me they plan to bug out. Personally, I plan to stay at home unless a lifethreatening disaster requires my departure. There is no place I want to go––except maybe to an expensive hotel. However, with my personal 72-hour; kit, I could even endure a public shelter, if necessary.
I’ve spent a weekend in a church recreation hall during an ice storm with several other families––it wasn’t too bad, except for the lack of privacy. I’ve also spent a few days at my parents’ home––all the kids, grandkids, and all their collective dogs.
But heading for the unfamiliar hills, living in the wilderness fraught with unknown dangers, chasing wild animals with switches, fending off others in a similar plight to mine, while trying to maintain an urban lifestyle, does not seem a good option to me. The very thought of getting on the freeway or city streets during or following a disaster, competing for space with all those folks carrying handguns (even if they do have permits) and other nefarious weapons, is just a little frightening. On the streets I cannot defend myself adequately. At home, I can maintain my independence as long as I have my personal provisions to sustain me until the crisis is past.
My personal plans in the case of a local disaster––such as an electrical failure––are to make the best of a bad situation, enjoy the intervention in my normally extra-long workday, and spend it with my wife (and the dogs) in the ensuing peace and quiet. It would be a moment to have another honeymoon, savor the quiet, and listen to all those archived short-wave radio programs I’ve wanted to listen to for ages…
However, if you must leave home unexpectedly (perhaps like those in California who were forced to evacuate due to wildfires), be sure to have the following information ready to go with you:
You should record information about the daily whereabouts of family members and how they can be contacted. It might be appropriate to keep this information on the family bulletin board (in our house it’s the refrigerator), in each E/PAK, and even in your wallet. Remember to update as contacts or locations change.
Keep in mind that during times of natural or people-caused disasters, local telephone service is often disrupted. Therefore, each member of the household should carry the name, phone number, and address of a person who is designated as an out-of-area contact. (Note: long distance lines often remain useable during emergencies. Additionally, the phone company’s emergency network is the pay phone system. It will be restored before residential lines.)  If separated, each family member should call the designated out-of-area contact and communicate his particular situation within a certain period of time, reporting his physical condition, his location, and other information as previously agreed upon. Keep adequate change in your E/PAK for making pay phone calls.
Responsibility begins in your own home. You are responsible for protecting yourself, your family, and your property to the best of your capability. This entails planning and preparing your own resources to:
(1) Respond to,
(2) Mitigate the effects of, and
(3) Recover from natural and people-caused disasters that can become your personal disaster(s).
The preparation level should exceed the risk level of the expected and unexpected emergencies or disasters in a particular geographic location.
Being prepared requires learning about potential disasters and emergencies, knowing first aid, CPR, and other life-saving skills. Adaptability and independence are critical qualities to develop in one’s preparation efforts.
Unfortunately such self-reliance skills are not taught in most schools. Usually they are learned at the hands of bad experience––a tough taskmaster, indeed! There is no easy way to become self-reliant. It requires work, meaningful efforts in selfeducation, and often a large measure of self-denial. Utilize all the knowledge you can gain to prepare for the disasters which could cause you and your family more than the loss of your car, your property, or your crops.
The above article was taken from Dr. Prepper’s Making the Best of the Basics by James Stevens, which is now available to Survival Life readers at half-price. Just click here and enter coupon code present to get your copy for only $19.97!
This article was originally published by Michael Snyder at his Economic Collapse Blog.
Editor’s Note: As we are all entangled in a larger global economy at this point, the globe is collectively headed down a path together. Like it or not – and many of us do not – it is too late to recognize that it was bad idea. We have passed countless economic signposts all signaling that a dangerous stretch of road lies ahead. Michael Snyder lays out a few in this article, and has named hundreds of these factors in recent articles. The Fed’s printing press has been used as a sump pump to artificially keep us from drowning, but there are limits.
The falling oil prices is crippling Russia, and looms heavily over the U.S. and much of the rest of the world as well. It is no exaggeration to say that currencies throughout the globe are in complete turmoil, are vulnerable, and – as in the case of the euro – could very possibly collapse. New currency platforms have been developed and may rise in the aftermath. But something is happening, and the potential for it to take everyone down with it is serious enough.
As Snyder notes, this is a long-term situation, and may be played out of many, many chess moves, but it carries with it great significance. Only time will tell if the crisis is averted, masked, or just delayed.
The quote at the bottom of the article is worth repeating, and presenting first: that our dear leaders have ALREADY been using all their fire power to keep the illusion going, and it is questionable at best how long this can really keep up. Hedge fund manager Crispin Odey writes:
“My point is that we used all our monetary firepower to avoid the first downturn in 2007-09,†he writes, “so we are really at a dangerous point to try to counter the effects of a slowing China, falling commodities and EM incomes, and the ultimate First World Effects. This is the heart of the message. If economic activity far from picks up, but falters, then there will be a painful round of debt default.â€
The signs of the times are everywhere – all you have to do is open up your eyes and look at them. When a pregnant woman first goes into labor, the birth pangs are usually fairly moderate and are not that close together. But as the time for delivery approaches, they become much more frequent and much more intense. Economically, what we are experiencing right now are birth pangs of the coming Great Depression. As we get closer to the crisis that is looming on the horizon, they will become even more powerful. This week, we learned that the Baltic Dry Index has fallen to the lowest level that we have seen in 29 years. The Baltic Dry Index also crashed during the financial collapse of 2008, but right now it is already lower than it was at any point during the last financial crisis. In addition, “Dr. Copper†and other industrial commodities continue to plunge. This almost always happens before we enter an economic downturn. Meanwhile, as I mentioned the other day, orders for durable goods are declining. This is also a traditional indicator that a recession is approaching. The warning signs are there – we just have to be open to what they are telling us.
And of course there are so many more parallels between past economic downturns and what is happening right now.
For example, volatility has returned to the markets in a big way. On Tuesday the Dow was down about 300 points, on Wednesday it was down another couple hundred points, and then on Thursday it was up a couple hundred points.
This is precisely how markets behave just before they crash. When markets are calm, they tend to go up. When markets get really choppy and start behaving erratically, that tells us that a big move down is usually coming.
At the same time, almost every major global currency is imploding. For much more on this, see the amazing charts in this article.
In particular, I am greatly concerned about the collapse of the euro. The Swiss would not have decoupled their currency from the euro if it was healthy. And political events in Greece are certainly not going to help things either. Economic conditions across Europe just continue to get worse, and the future of the eurozone itself is very much in doubt at this point. And if the eurozone does break up, a European economic depression is almost virtually assured – at least in the short term.
And I haven’t even mentioned the oil crash yet.
There is only one other time in all of history when the price of oil collapsed by more than 60 dollars, and that was just prior to the horrific financial crisis of 2008.
Since the last financial crisis, the oil industry has been a huge source for job growth in this country. The following is an excerpt from a recent CNN article…
The oil sector has added over a half million jobs — many of them high paying — since the recession ended in June 2009. That’s 13% of all US job growth over that period.
Now energy companies and related sectors are laying off thousands. Expect that trend to continue, bears say.
But losing good jobs is just the tip of the iceberg of this oil crisis.
At this point, the price of oil has already dropped to a catastrophically low level. The longer it stays at this level, the more damage that it is going to do. If the price of oil stays at this level for all of 2015, we are going to have a complete and total financial nightmare on our hands…
For the first time in 18 years, oil exporters are pulling liquidity out of world markets rather than putting money in. The world is now fast approaching a world reserve currency shift. If we see 8 to 12 months at these oil prices; U.S. shale industry will be wiped out. The effect on junk bonds will cascade to the rest of the stock market and U.S. economy.
…and this time there will be nothing left to catch the falling knife before it hits the American economy right in the heart. Not the FED nor the U.S. government can stop what’s coming. Liquidity will freeze up, our credit will be downgraded, the stock market will start to collapse, and then we can expect the FED to come in and hyper-inflate the dollar. This will cause the world to finish abandoning the world reserve currency in the last rungs of trade. This will be the end of the petrodollar.
Something that I have not discussed so far this year is the looming crisis in emerging market debt.
As economic problems spread around the world, a number of “emerging markets†are in danger of having their debt downgraded. And many investment funds have rules that prohibit them from holding any debt that is not “investment gradeâ€. Therefore, we could potentially see some of these giant funds dumping massive amounts of emerging market debt if downgrades happen.
This is a really big deal. As a Business Insider article recently detailed, we could be talking about hundreds of billions of dollars…
Russia this week became the first of the major economies to lose its investment grade status from Standard & Poor’s, falling out off the top ratings category for credits deemed to have a low risk of default for the first time in a decade.
If Moody’s and Fitch follow, conservative investors barred from owning junk securities must sell their holdings. JPMorgan estimates this means they may ditch $6 billion in Russian government rouble and dollar debt.
Russia may have company. Almost $260 billion worth of sovereign and corporate bonds – nearly a tenth of outstanding emerging market (EM) debt – is in danger of being relegated to junk, according to David Spegel, head of emerging debt at BNP Paribas, who calls such credits “falling angelsâ€.
And no article of this nature would be complete without mentioning derivatives.
I could not possibly overemphasize the danger that the 700 trillion dollar derivatives bubble poses to the global financial system.
As we enter the coming Great Depression, derivatives are going to play a starring role. Wall Street has been pumped full of funny money by global central banks, and our financial markets have been transformed into the greatest casino in the history of the world. When this house of cards comes crashing down, and it will, it is going to be a financial disaster unlike anything that the planet has ever seen.
And yes, global central banks are very much responsible for setting the stage for what we are about to experience.
I really like the way that David Stockman put it the other day…
The global financial system is literally booby-trapped with accidents waiting to happen owing to six consecutive years of massive money printing by nearly every central bank in the world.
Over that span, the collective balance sheet of the major central banks has soared by nearly $11 trillion, meaning that honest price discovery has been virtually destroyed. This massive “bid†for existing financial assets based on credit confected from thin air drove long-term bond yields to rock bottom levels not seen in 600 years since the Black Plague; and pinned money market costs at zero—-for 73 months running.
What is the consequence of this drastic financial repression along the entire yield curve? The answer is bond prices which keep rising regardless of credit risk, inflation or taxes; and rampant carry trade speculation that can’t get out of its own way because central banks have made the financial gamblers’ cost of goods—the “funding†cost of their trades—-essentially zero.
Of course I am not the only one warning that a new Great Depression is coming. For instance, just consider what British hedge fund manager Crispin Odey is saying…
British hedge fund manager Crispin Odey thinks we’ve entered an economic downturn that is “likely to be remembered in a hundred years,†and central banks won’t be able to stop it.
In his Odey Asset Management investor letter dated Dec. 31, Odey writes that the shorting opportunity “looks as great as it was in 07/09.â€
“My point is that we used all our monetary firepower to avoid the first downturn in 2007-09,†he writes, “so we are really at a dangerous point to try to counter the effects of a slowing China, falling commodities and EM incomes, and the ultimate First World Effects. This is the heart of the message. If economic activity far from picks up, but falters, then there will be a painful round of debt default.â€
Even though most average citizens are completely oblivious to what is happening, many among the elite are heeding the warning signs and are feverishly getting prepared. As Robert Johnson told a stunned audience at the World Economic Forum the other day, they are “buying airstrips and farms in places like New Zealand“. They can see the horrifying storm forming on the horizon and they are preparing to get out while the getting is good.
It can be very frustrating to write about economics, because things in the financial world can take an extended period of time to play out. Sadly, most people these days have extremely short attention spans. We live in a world of iPhones, iPads, YouTube videos, Facebook updates and 48 hour news cycles. People no longer are accustomed to thinking in long-term time frames, and if something does not happen right away we tend to get bored with it.
But the economic world is not like a game of “Angry Birdsâ€. Rather, it is very much like a game of chess.
And unfortunately for us, checkmate is right around the corner.
Michael T. Snyder is a graduate of the University of Florida law school and he worked as an attorney in the heart of Washington D.C. for a number of years.
Today, Michael is best known for his work as the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog and The American Dream.
If you want to know what things in America are going to look like in a few years read his new book The Beginning of the End.
