2014: The Year of The Prepper?
"The end of 2014 is just the beginning. What have we learned what have we discovered about this country and about ourselves when it comes to being prepared for anything? Is 2014 the year of the Prepper?"
"The end of 2014 is just the beginning. What have we learned what have we discovered about this country and about ourselves when it comes to being prepared for anything? Is 2014 the year of the Prepper?"
10 Questions Preppers Should Ask the Doctor
"I often get questions from people that say: “I take this medicine or that medicine for this medical problem. What do I do if there’s a collapse and I can’t get modern medical care?” I usually say, well, what did your doctor say? “Well, I haven’t really asked.” OK, how bad is your condition? “Umm, I’m not too sure…I haven’t really asked that, either, but the doctor wants me to do this test”. What’s the test for? “I’m not really sure, but I’m supposed to get it done.” Do you see a problem here? I do."
(Sgt Trainer: This is a very good article and full of information that the normal person needs to hear. I will, however, caveat it. Understand that there are physicians that PREFER you NOT asking questions! Why? Because that decreases the amount of time they have to spend with you and can spend on other patients...thus making more money. Additionally, some physicians like to make you feel inferior to them and soncider questions from you about YOUR health and treatment with utter disdain. If so, do not be discouraged. YOU are in charge of your treatment! Physicians do NOT get to have the final word! They explain what the treatment is, etc., but it is you who is responsible for making the decision to agree to the treatment. When my wife was in the hospital three times before she passed from a rare cancer, I always made sure the doctors knew EXACTLY who was in charge with decisions about her treatment plan...and it was NOT the physicians. A couple of physicians didn't like it but most understood and respected the decisions made. Be responsible for understanding your treatment.
"I often get questions from people that say: “I take this medicine or that medicine for this medical problem. What do I do if there’s a collapse and I can’t get modern medical care?” I usually say, well, what did your doctor say? “Well, I haven’t really asked.” OK, how bad is your condition? “Umm, I’m not too sure…I haven’t really asked that, either, but the doctor wants me to do this test”. What’s the test for? “I’m not really sure, but I’m supposed to get it done.” Do you see a problem here? I do."
(Sgt Trainer: This is a very good article and full of information that the normal person needs to hear. I will, however, caveat it. Understand that there are physicians that PREFER you NOT asking questions! Why? Because that decreases the amount of time they have to spend with you and can spend on other patients...thus making more money. Additionally, some physicians like to make you feel inferior to them and soncider questions from you about YOUR health and treatment with utter disdain. If so, do not be discouraged. YOU are in charge of your treatment! Physicians do NOT get to have the final word! They explain what the treatment is, etc., but it is you who is responsible for making the decision to agree to the treatment. When my wife was in the hospital three times before she passed from a rare cancer, I always made sure the doctors knew EXACTLY who was in charge with decisions about her treatment plan...and it was NOT the physicians. A couple of physicians didn't like it but most understood and respected the decisions made. Be responsible for understanding your treatment.
Infographic: The Apps That Know Everything About You
"You'd may be surprised at the dozens of pieces of data that some of the most popular apps are collecting about you every day. It’s no secret that Facebook can track pretty much every detail about your personal life. But did you know that Happy Fish—a popular kids game based on the Android operating system—might be a worse privacy offender? Happy Fish’s developer, HappyElements, programmed the game so that it can collect a trove of information about you (and your kids) through the app. The game knows your precise location, has access to your photos and can read your text messages. It can even tell which Wi-Fi network you’re using. We’ll get to why the game does this in a minute—and what it does and doesn’t do with that information—but let’s just pause for a second. This is a bit creepy, right? Plenty of people think so. Just check out some of the reviews on hit games. Fruit Ninja, for instance, consistently weirds people out with the personal data it asks them to fork over. The permissions “are crazy,” writes one reviewer. “I will never install this until it is clear as to why the developer needs access to all your private content.” Hong helped us run an analysis of these apps– and you can see the results in the chart below. We chose to focus on Android apps for a couple of reasons. First, there are about a billion Android users, which gives them about 62 percent of the smartphone market, compared with Apple’s 33 percent. Second, Android, unlike Apple, makes it easy to run a robot to retrieve the permission data easily. But our findings are relevant for any mobile phone user—it’s a barometer of what app makers think they can get away with."
"You'd may be surprised at the dozens of pieces of data that some of the most popular apps are collecting about you every day. It’s no secret that Facebook can track pretty much every detail about your personal life. But did you know that Happy Fish—a popular kids game based on the Android operating system—might be a worse privacy offender? Happy Fish’s developer, HappyElements, programmed the game so that it can collect a trove of information about you (and your kids) through the app. The game knows your precise location, has access to your photos and can read your text messages. It can even tell which Wi-Fi network you’re using. We’ll get to why the game does this in a minute—and what it does and doesn’t do with that information—but let’s just pause for a second. This is a bit creepy, right? Plenty of people think so. Just check out some of the reviews on hit games. Fruit Ninja, for instance, consistently weirds people out with the personal data it asks them to fork over. The permissions “are crazy,” writes one reviewer. “I will never install this until it is clear as to why the developer needs access to all your private content.” Hong helped us run an analysis of these apps– and you can see the results in the chart below. We chose to focus on Android apps for a couple of reasons. First, there are about a billion Android users, which gives them about 62 percent of the smartphone market, compared with Apple’s 33 percent. Second, Android, unlike Apple, makes it easy to run a robot to retrieve the permission data easily. But our findings are relevant for any mobile phone user—it’s a barometer of what app makers think they can get away with."
A first: More non-Mexicans than Mexicans apprehended at U.S. border in 2014, new study finds
"A new Pew Research Center study of more than six decades of Border Patrol data shows a first in 2014: The Border Patrol apprehended more non-Mexicans than Mexicans at U.S. borders this year. Pew researchers said the shift "is another sign that unauthorized immigrants from Mexico are crossing the U.S.-Mexico border significantly less often than they did before the Great Recession."
"A new Pew Research Center study of more than six decades of Border Patrol data shows a first in 2014: The Border Patrol apprehended more non-Mexicans than Mexicans at U.S. borders this year. Pew researchers said the shift "is another sign that unauthorized immigrants from Mexico are crossing the U.S.-Mexico border significantly less often than they did before the Great Recession."
Judge Weighs In On The Use of Radar Devices To Scan Homes For Police Searches
"Tenth Circuit by Judge Neil Gorsuch is always known for his strong opinions. He recently let the increasingly militarized and Constitution-ignoring police have it in the ruling on United States v. Denson, which addresses the use a Doppler radar device to determine if residents are present within a home to be searched or raided. The case involved a home entry and arrest of a suspect. Judge Gorsuch notes the importance of Fourth Amendment Constitutional issues that are raised by use of a “Doppler radar device capable of detecting from outside the home the presence of human breathing and movement within.”
"Tenth Circuit by Judge Neil Gorsuch is always known for his strong opinions. He recently let the increasingly militarized and Constitution-ignoring police have it in the ruling on United States v. Denson, which addresses the use a Doppler radar device to determine if residents are present within a home to be searched or raided. The case involved a home entry and arrest of a suspect. Judge Gorsuch notes the importance of Fourth Amendment Constitutional issues that are raised by use of a “Doppler radar device capable of detecting from outside the home the presence of human breathing and movement within.”
Incense Use Now Officially Linked To Cardiovascular Death
"Even though incense is commonly used for religious and ritual purposes in some of the most populated nations in the world, few studies have ever examined incense burning as a potential health threat. Investigators have found a link between long-term incense use and increased cardiovascular mortality. Just about any smoke is harmful to our lungs if it’s inhaled. Incense burns four times more particulate matter than cigarette smoke. The study used data from the Singapore Chinese Health Study, which enrolled a cohort of 63,257 Chinese adults aged 45-74 years between 1993 and 1998. The authors identified cardiovascular deaths of cohort members via a nationwide death registry, checking the registry yearly through 31 December 2011. They stratified their analysis for factors such as smoking history, education level, baseline history of cardiovascular disease, and gender. They also performed a sensitivity analysis to examine potential confounding by exposure to secondhand smoke."
"Even though incense is commonly used for religious and ritual purposes in some of the most populated nations in the world, few studies have ever examined incense burning as a potential health threat. Investigators have found a link between long-term incense use and increased cardiovascular mortality. Just about any smoke is harmful to our lungs if it’s inhaled. Incense burns four times more particulate matter than cigarette smoke. The study used data from the Singapore Chinese Health Study, which enrolled a cohort of 63,257 Chinese adults aged 45-74 years between 1993 and 1998. The authors identified cardiovascular deaths of cohort members via a nationwide death registry, checking the registry yearly through 31 December 2011. They stratified their analysis for factors such as smoking history, education level, baseline history of cardiovascular disease, and gender. They also performed a sensitivity analysis to examine potential confounding by exposure to secondhand smoke."
Doomsday Hoarders: 6 OCD Hacks to Organize Your Stockpile Chaos
"Is your house like an unfortunate cross between Doomsday Preppers and Hoarders? How do you store your preps? Are they neatly organized, where you can grab what you need at a moment’s notice? Are they a jumbled mess that makes your house look like an abandoned storage facility? Perhaps they are hidden chaos, tucked away neatly in drawers and closets, but with no rhyme or reason. How many of you have sought in vain for an ingredient that you know you have 77 and 1/3 boxes of, only to have to go to the store to purchase it because you can’t find any of those elusive boxes? When you stock up the way a lot of us do, organization is vital. Otherwise, important supplies go missing. You spend time searching for them and money replacing them, even though they’re lurking under your bed, taunting you from the shadows under there. Even worse, sometimes food expires while it’s tucked away, forgotten and unrotated into your kitchen, leaving you with pounds of edibles so stale that they can’t be consumed. The biggest stockpile of supplies in the world won’t do you any good if you can’t find what you need when you need it. Should “getting organized” be your New Year’s resolution?"
"Is your house like an unfortunate cross between Doomsday Preppers and Hoarders? How do you store your preps? Are they neatly organized, where you can grab what you need at a moment’s notice? Are they a jumbled mess that makes your house look like an abandoned storage facility? Perhaps they are hidden chaos, tucked away neatly in drawers and closets, but with no rhyme or reason. How many of you have sought in vain for an ingredient that you know you have 77 and 1/3 boxes of, only to have to go to the store to purchase it because you can’t find any of those elusive boxes? When you stock up the way a lot of us do, organization is vital. Otherwise, important supplies go missing. You spend time searching for them and money replacing them, even though they’re lurking under your bed, taunting you from the shadows under there. Even worse, sometimes food expires while it’s tucked away, forgotten and unrotated into your kitchen, leaving you with pounds of edibles so stale that they can’t be consumed. The biggest stockpile of supplies in the world won’t do you any good if you can’t find what you need when you need it. Should “getting organized” be your New Year’s resolution?"
Why is it illegal for communities to protect themselves from harm?
"The supposed answer to that question is the Supremacy Clause of the US Constitution, Article 6, paragraph 2: “This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.” By inference, the individual states declare their own supremacy when local communities try to nullify or avoid state statutes. Keep in mind that the US Constitution enumerates powers granted to the federal government, and reserves all other powers for the states or the people. But this restraint has been trampled on so many times it’s barely visible under the tonnage of federal law and regulation. Therefore, the Supremacy Clause becomes: “We, the federal government, can do anything we want to, and the states and the people are bound by it.” So…what happens when the people of a community decide that a medical drug or pesticide or genetically modified organism or fracking chemical or vaccine is poisonous and must be banned? The state preempts the community, and if the state doesn’t, the federal government will move in and assert its ultimate authority."
"The supposed answer to that question is the Supremacy Clause of the US Constitution, Article 6, paragraph 2: “This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.” By inference, the individual states declare their own supremacy when local communities try to nullify or avoid state statutes. Keep in mind that the US Constitution enumerates powers granted to the federal government, and reserves all other powers for the states or the people. But this restraint has been trampled on so many times it’s barely visible under the tonnage of federal law and regulation. Therefore, the Supremacy Clause becomes: “We, the federal government, can do anything we want to, and the states and the people are bound by it.” So…what happens when the people of a community decide that a medical drug or pesticide or genetically modified organism or fracking chemical or vaccine is poisonous and must be banned? The state preempts the community, and if the state doesn’t, the federal government will move in and assert its ultimate authority."
State Departments of Agriculture are Attempting to Regulate Seed Banks Out of Existence
"Last year, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture officials sent ‘a friendly letter’ to a seed bank/seed exchange group in Mechanicsburg, telling them they need to test every variety of seed with extremely impractical and pointless tests to ensure that they are up to standards with regulations. ‘Agri-Terrorism’ was cited by officials as a reason why such regulations should be enforced on something as natural as the right to exchange and possess seeds. There are laws in every state regulating the possession and exchange of seeds. The actual enforcement of these laws is spotty, because a lot of law is actually too complex most often to even decode, and just about any crazy thing that was once written in law can be enforced if the law enforcement wants to. Also, who wants to enforce laws regulating and stifling such a productive, natural right? “There’s almost no danger,” said John Torgrimson, the executive director of the Seed Savers Exchange. “This is not a risk to agriculture in any state. This is not a risk to our food supply.” Pennsylvania is not alone in this fight. Regulators in Nebraska are also looking at local seed banks."
"Last year, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture officials sent ‘a friendly letter’ to a seed bank/seed exchange group in Mechanicsburg, telling them they need to test every variety of seed with extremely impractical and pointless tests to ensure that they are up to standards with regulations. ‘Agri-Terrorism’ was cited by officials as a reason why such regulations should be enforced on something as natural as the right to exchange and possess seeds. There are laws in every state regulating the possession and exchange of seeds. The actual enforcement of these laws is spotty, because a lot of law is actually too complex most often to even decode, and just about any crazy thing that was once written in law can be enforced if the law enforcement wants to. Also, who wants to enforce laws regulating and stifling such a productive, natural right? “There’s almost no danger,” said John Torgrimson, the executive director of the Seed Savers Exchange. “This is not a risk to agriculture in any state. This is not a risk to our food supply.” Pennsylvania is not alone in this fight. Regulators in Nebraska are also looking at local seed banks."
The Terrible Truth about the Money in Your Pocket
"Reach into your pocket right now and pull out one of those righteous dollar bills you own. Take a good look at, in all its green and symbol laden glory. Have you ever stopped and asked yourself “What is this really worth?” If you asked an economist, he’d probably try to compare its value to a commodity or another currency. If you asked a blue collar worker he’d tell you that it’s food on the table. Or if you asked a white collar office drone, he or she would tell you that it’s freedom. If you asked a politician, he’d tell you that money equals votes (off the record of course). And if you asked a banker, well…he’d probably speak into his watch and say “I’ve got one that can see!” But what is it really worth? Nothing. It’s worthless, and that’s the godawful truth. I’m not exaggerating to make a point either. It’s not just overrated, overinflated and backed by nothing but confidence. It is quite literally worthless. Less than worthless in fact! Our fractional reserve banking system spews out “money” that is nothing of the kind. This thing that we spend our whole lives desperately trying to accumulate; that builds our roads, feeds our bellies, pays our mortgages and fuels our dreams. This glorified token that puts our kids through school so that they may spend their whole lives trying to accumulate it as well, is not really money. It’s debt! And it’s not even your debt. It’s somebody else’s liability."
"Reach into your pocket right now and pull out one of those righteous dollar bills you own. Take a good look at, in all its green and symbol laden glory. Have you ever stopped and asked yourself “What is this really worth?” If you asked an economist, he’d probably try to compare its value to a commodity or another currency. If you asked a blue collar worker he’d tell you that it’s food on the table. Or if you asked a white collar office drone, he or she would tell you that it’s freedom. If you asked a politician, he’d tell you that money equals votes (off the record of course). And if you asked a banker, well…he’d probably speak into his watch and say “I’ve got one that can see!” But what is it really worth? Nothing. It’s worthless, and that’s the godawful truth. I’m not exaggerating to make a point either. It’s not just overrated, overinflated and backed by nothing but confidence. It is quite literally worthless. Less than worthless in fact! Our fractional reserve banking system spews out “money” that is nothing of the kind. This thing that we spend our whole lives desperately trying to accumulate; that builds our roads, feeds our bellies, pays our mortgages and fuels our dreams. This glorified token that puts our kids through school so that they may spend their whole lives trying to accumulate it as well, is not really money. It’s debt! And it’s not even your debt. It’s somebody else’s liability."
Post SHTF Eating After The Grid Goes Down
"I like to eat. I do it 2-3 times every day. If the Grid goes down, the SHTF, or we have TEOTWAWKI, I hope to keep doing it, and maybe even increase my calorie intake. So how do you do that? I hear people say they will head for the hills, and live off nature. This is not a plan. This Is Not A Plan! THIS IS NOT A PLAN!!!!! I live in the hills and have most of my life. I know all the local plant life and have hunted all the local wild life. I even go on camping trips and eat just what nature provides. I would die if I tired to live out there just off nature. I know where the springs are, the wild fruit trees, the berry bushes, the nut trees, wild rose hips, where the game trails and feeding grounds are and what grows when. If you were to come with me the right times of year, you would imagine I am a survival guru of the highest caliber and that living off the land is easy. Come back Nov-May and you will be eating the phloem off trees (if you even know which ones to eat). Also the hills tend to get a lot more rain/snow and the cold can come on a lot faster and more often then in other places. Mountain Men were know for being rough and rugged in an already rough and rugged world for a reason, living in the hills is tough."
"I like to eat. I do it 2-3 times every day. If the Grid goes down, the SHTF, or we have TEOTWAWKI, I hope to keep doing it, and maybe even increase my calorie intake. So how do you do that? I hear people say they will head for the hills, and live off nature. This is not a plan. This Is Not A Plan! THIS IS NOT A PLAN!!!!! I live in the hills and have most of my life. I know all the local plant life and have hunted all the local wild life. I even go on camping trips and eat just what nature provides. I would die if I tired to live out there just off nature. I know where the springs are, the wild fruit trees, the berry bushes, the nut trees, wild rose hips, where the game trails and feeding grounds are and what grows when. If you were to come with me the right times of year, you would imagine I am a survival guru of the highest caliber and that living off the land is easy. Come back Nov-May and you will be eating the phloem off trees (if you even know which ones to eat). Also the hills tend to get a lot more rain/snow and the cold can come on a lot faster and more often then in other places. Mountain Men were know for being rough and rugged in an already rough and rugged world for a reason, living in the hills is tough."
Why Is The Fed Hiring An “Emergency Preparedness Specialist Familiar With DHS Directives”
"Why does the Fed need a person with these qualifications?"
"Why does the Fed need a person with these qualifications?"
How To Start An Emergency Fire Using An LED Headlamp
"When it comes to training for survival in an outdoor living scenario, few survival skills are more important to your overall level of emergency preparedness than the ability to start a fire with whatever means you have at your disposal at any given moment. Remember, you might not always have access to matches or a cigarette lighter. Lighters run out of fluid, and matches get wet. Even if you have weatherproof matches at your disposal, it is still a good idea to have other skills that might allow you to save that resource in the event that you aren't sure when or from where you will get replacements for the ones you use. Here is an example of another unusual way to start a fire for you to file away in your skill set in case you need it in the future."
"When it comes to training for survival in an outdoor living scenario, few survival skills are more important to your overall level of emergency preparedness than the ability to start a fire with whatever means you have at your disposal at any given moment. Remember, you might not always have access to matches or a cigarette lighter. Lighters run out of fluid, and matches get wet. Even if you have weatherproof matches at your disposal, it is still a good idea to have other skills that might allow you to save that resource in the event that you aren't sure when or from where you will get replacements for the ones you use. Here is an example of another unusual way to start a fire for you to file away in your skill set in case you need it in the future."
The MOST important aspect of group survival/preparedness
"I am not simply looking for views and reads by giving this blog piece that title. I sincerely think this topic is the most important aspect of group survival and preparedness. The topic is the ability to communicate effectively with others. Let us not fool ourselves into thinking that survival and preparedness is simply a TV show or a hobby. While it is no more than that for many, the realism of a disaster preparedness event such as an earthquake, tornado or similar and the stress that go along with them will put many of us in a frenzy of activity to get important things done. This is the reason why the military has ranking systems and you simply follow without question the orders of others. Under stressful conditions there is not time for such argumentation and discussion. You train everyone to do their job effectively and then you go do it under orders from others."
"I am not simply looking for views and reads by giving this blog piece that title. I sincerely think this topic is the most important aspect of group survival and preparedness. The topic is the ability to communicate effectively with others. Let us not fool ourselves into thinking that survival and preparedness is simply a TV show or a hobby. While it is no more than that for many, the realism of a disaster preparedness event such as an earthquake, tornado or similar and the stress that go along with them will put many of us in a frenzy of activity to get important things done. This is the reason why the military has ranking systems and you simply follow without question the orders of others. Under stressful conditions there is not time for such argumentation and discussion. You train everyone to do their job effectively and then you go do it under orders from others."
Coming in 2015: Tools to help you tackle 3 important survival elements
"The moment fear grips your heart and you realize just how unprepared you are, the first impulse of most people is to go out and BUY. Buy wheat. Buy beans. Buy freeze-dried food. Buy ammo. Buy a Berkey. And so on. To compound this impulse, one that will almost surely damage your financial status, are countless “survival” websites that exist for the sole purpose of selling fear, because fear is big business. They rake in massive amounts of money each day from people just like you. But food, water purifiers, firearms, and ammo aren’t all that when it comes to being prepared. In fact, there are 3 elements of preparedness that are overlooked by these websites. Likely because there’s no much money to be made in promoting them. Those are saving money, getting your home organized, and learning new skills."
"The moment fear grips your heart and you realize just how unprepared you are, the first impulse of most people is to go out and BUY. Buy wheat. Buy beans. Buy freeze-dried food. Buy ammo. Buy a Berkey. And so on. To compound this impulse, one that will almost surely damage your financial status, are countless “survival” websites that exist for the sole purpose of selling fear, because fear is big business. They rake in massive amounts of money each day from people just like you. But food, water purifiers, firearms, and ammo aren’t all that when it comes to being prepared. In fact, there are 3 elements of preparedness that are overlooked by these websites. Likely because there’s no much money to be made in promoting them. Those are saving money, getting your home organized, and learning new skills."
Benefits of Kudzu
"Kudzu is one of those weeds we all know and hate. Kudzu, if left to grow, can take over everything in a matter of months and devour homes in a couple of years, but it can be useful to you. Kudzu can be your friend if you keep it maintained. When it was brought to the United States in 1876, it was used for soil erosion in the south. So the plant was let go to grow and hold the dirt in place, but eventually became to much for people to control and now is loathed."
"Kudzu is one of those weeds we all know and hate. Kudzu, if left to grow, can take over everything in a matter of months and devour homes in a couple of years, but it can be useful to you. Kudzu can be your friend if you keep it maintained. When it was brought to the United States in 1876, it was used for soil erosion in the south. So the plant was let go to grow and hold the dirt in place, but eventually became to much for people to control and now is loathed."
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