Some Basic Survival Questions

This is and article I wrote in the now defunct Idaho Observer.

From the December 2006 Idaho Observer:

Some basic survival questions

by Kevin Swindle

Following is by no means a comprehensive list of survival questions. This is simply a bare bones list of questions to get you thinking about survival and your own situation.

1. How much potable (drinkable) water do I have stored and how long would it last if all sources of water were cut off? Ideally, you should have 2 gallons per person per day. (3 gallons per person per day if your stored food is freeze dried or dehydrated.)

2. How much food do I have stored and how long would it last if all sources of food were cut off and all electric power were cut? (Hint: this means all your frozen food and foods requiring refrigeration are gone.)

3. How much essential medication for myself and my other family members do I have on hand and how long would they last if there was no way to get refills or if there was a medical emergency?

4. How much emergency medical supplies do I have? Do I have enough for every family member?

5. Do I have a firearm for each adult family member? Do I have enough ammunition for each firearm (The minimum should be at least 1,000 rounds of ammunition per firearm)?

6. Are the firearms I have in good working order? (This means old guns that have not been shot in 50 years should be considered unreliable until proven otherwise. Also, guns like a .22 caliber pistol probably won’t help much in defending your home from a group of intruders). Ideally the caliber of all handguns you have should begin with the number 4. (Notable exceptions to this rule are the 9mm, 10mm, .357 magnum, the .38 special, and the .22 magnum.) Ideally, all shotguns should be either 10, 12, or 20 gauge. When choosing rifles, reliability should be the # 1 consideration in survival situations. The AK-47 and its many variants are best in this area, but they are not as accurate as other military type rifles such as the AR-15, FN-FAL, and SKS carbine. Most deer rifles are excellent in this area as well.

NOTE: HAVING ANY FIREARM EVEN IF IT IS LESS THAN IDEAL IS BETTER THAN HAVING NO FIREARM.

7. If I live in a cold weather climate, do I have proper clothing to survive assuming all energy sources were cut off? In simple terms this means its cold and you have no heat. (Space blankets and space bags, which are made of metal foil which reflects body heat, are a low priced way to give yourself protection in this area).

8. How much CASH money do I have stockpiled for emergencies? In survival situations, you should work off the assumption that checks and credit cards will not be honored. You should have at least $200stockpiled in case of emergencies.

NOTE: HAVING ANY AMOUNT OF CASH STOCKPILED EVEN IF IT IS LESS THAN $200 IS BETTER THAN HAVING NO CASH STOCKPILED.

9. Do I have any books on survival in my personal library? If the answer is no, get some. Delta Press and Paladin Press are two of the best sources for books on survival. I recommend that you read every book you can get your hands on by Duncan Long and Ragnar Benson. These two gentlemen are, in my opinion, the best writers on survival topics on this planet.

10. Do I really know what’s going on in the world? If you don’t know what’s going on, you cannot plan for emergencies effectively. (Hint: If you get all your news from the mainstream media, you DO NOT know what is going on. That’s a fact.)

The First Lesson in Survival: Humility

From the November 2006 Idaho Observer: An article I wrote for their print and online edition with an introduction by the late Don Harkins, publisher of The Idaho Observer


The first lesson in survival: Humility


We are in the middle of perilous times. If surviving our uncertain future is your goal, when presumed expertise may or may not help you, then our first lesson is humility. Kevin Swindle is a survivalist who intends to begin publishing "Kevin Swindle’s Preparedness Newsletter" early next year. Because there has been a merger of our respect for Swindle’s sincerity in providing (potential) readers with vital, cutting-edge material and our desire to perpare our (existing) readers to survive the coming storms, Swindle has provided us all with THE "point-A" perspective on the subject of survival.

by Kevin Swindle

What is humility? First of all, lets define what it is not. Humility is not shame, as the guilt merchants of the world would have you believe. HUMILITY IS THE REALIZATION THAT YOU ARE JUST ONE OF MANY IN THIS GREAT BIG WORLD, AND THAT NO MATTER HOW STRONG, INTELLIGENT, OR TALENTED YOU MAY BE, YOUR ABILITIES HAVE A DEFINITE LIMIT. To put it another way, you are not Superman.

You might be thinking, "Yeah Kevin, no kidding, that’s obvious." But is it? If you look at most people’s behavior you will quickly conclude it is not obvious. Graveyards are full of people who did not know their limits.

Here are some points to ponder on the topic of humility.

1. JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE AN EXPERT IN 1 FIELD DOES NOT MAKE YOU AN EXPERT IN EVERYTHING.

Individuals in the medical, scientific, and legal fields are particularly bad about making this mistake. They think because they are in a highly technical field this somehow makes them experts in everything. It does not.

I recently visited with my tax accountant and we talked about this topic. He told me of a medical doctor who decided he was smart enough to do his own taxes. The doctor took about a day and a half to do the taxes. He brought it in to show my accountant. My accountant reviewed the return and calmly informed the doctor he could have saved him an additional $6000.00. This doctor would not have gone to his accountant for surgery, so why did he go to himself for tax preparation? Arrogance, or more precisely, LACK OF HUMILITY.

In his excellent book Deep Survival, author Laurence Gonzalez tells of a U.S. Army Ranger who was killed on a white water rafting trip. Despite all of the survival training this Ranger had, he did not have training in white water rafting. His expert status did him no good, because his expertise did not extend to white water rafting.

Understand and know what you are an expert in, but more importantly UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ARE NOT AN EXPERT IN. If you are going into an area in which you are not an expert GET TRAINING through self-education, the classroom, or find someone who is an expert in the area you are going into and consult them.

2. YOU DON’T KNOW EVERYTHING. IN MOST SITUATIONS YOUR LUCKY IF YOU KNOW HALF OF IT.

OVERCONFIDENCE KILLS. If you enter into a situation thinking you have all the information, all the relevant data, you may at best be in for shock, at worst it can cost you your life.

Military history, from ancient times to the present is filled with examples of where overconfidence cost men their lives. Sometimes it caused empires to fall.

Survival situations are the most dangerous places for the overconfident person. Nature can throw things and situations at you that you could not foresee in a million years. If you face nature with the attitude that you know it all, that you’ve got all your bases covered, nature will embarrass you and maybe even kill you.

Note: CONFIDENCE is a good thing. FEAR is a killer every bit as deadly as OVERCONFIDENCE. You should not be afraid. Just avoid OVERCONFIDENCE.

OVERCONFIDENCE = LACK OF HUMILITY

Always keep this fact in your mind, especially in survival situations, whether they occur in the woods, ocean, or corporate boardroom: IN MOST SITUATIONS, YOU WILL BE LUCKY TO HAVE 50 PERCENT OF THE RELEVANT FACTS. This means that half of the facts that are relevant are unknown to you. If that doesn’t make you humble it’s likely nothing ever will.

3. ASK FOR HELP WHEN YOU NEED IT

There is nothing more stupid than to err or fail OR DIE when there are people around who are willing and able to offer you assistance. All you have to do is ask them.

LACK OF HUMILITY however, keeps many from asking for the help that is readily available. Some people just don’t like to admit they need help.

People have died, and do die on a routine basis simply because they refuse to ask for help. So the next time you find yourself in a potentially dangerous situation, and you don’t want to ask for help, you may want to ask yourself if your stupid pride (LACK OF HUMILITY) is worth dying for. Trust me, it is not.

Create your own seed vault; bypass terminator technology!

This article originally appeared in both the print and online version of the October 2008 Idaho Observer

From the October 2008 Idaho Observer:
Create your own seed vault; bypass terminator technology!
By Kevin Swindle

In early 2008, the Svalbard seed vault in Norway opened. It is approximately 620 miles from the North Pole. Operated by NorGen, a gene bank, the seed vault is allegedly there to protect millions of varieties of food crops from being wiped out in wars, man-made or natural disasters. It is far more likely that giant agribusiness is using this facility to advance its genetic modification (GM) technology.

There is both anecdotal and scientific evidence supporting claims that genetically modified foods are harmful to humans and animals. Plus, a component of GM research is the propagation of "terminator seeds."

Farmers, for thousands of years, have traditionally collected seeds from the crops they grow for planting the following year. Terminator seeds are seeds genetically engineered to produce sterile seeds in the plants they produce, making farmers dependent upon agribusiness to supply seeds each year.

This would be an excellent mechanism for controlling the world’s food supply, a means of using food as a weapon. Food control could be used as a means of people control.

This terminator technology is created by inserting one plant gene and two bacterial genes into the seeds. Before sale, the seeds are soaked in the antibiotic tetracycline which activates a molecular switch in one of the bacterial genes. The inserted plant gene does not activate until the seed in the plant is near maturity. The inserted plant gene produces a toxic protein that kills the seed in it’s late stages of development.

Some scientists have speculated that the sterility trait produced by the terminator gene sequence might get into plants in the wild via cross-pollination. If such a thing did occur, over a period of centuries, "heirloom" varieties of plant life could disappear.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Mississippi-based Delta Pine and Land Company received U.S. patent number 5,723,765 for the terminator technology. Delta Pine and Land is now owned by agribusiness giant Monsanto.

Creating your own seed vault:

You may not know it, but most of you reading this article already have your own seed vault: Your freezer. At the temperatures inside most freezers, seeds will stay viable for about one hundred years.

While not absolutely necessary, some of you may want to purchase a dedicated freezer for your own seed vault, especially if the freezer you have now is extremely full. There are small chest type freezers that take up little space and are available for less than two hundred dollars.
So what seeds should you put in your own personal seed vault?

First, select non-hybrid varieties. Hybrids are the first generation (F1) offspring of two different varieties of the same species. Hybrid seeds will express the desired genetic traits of the parent plants for only one generation. As such, hybrids are not a good choice for long-term survival food production.

Second, purchase seeds from reputable sources that state in their catalogs that they do not use GM seeds. If possible purchase your seeds from heirloom sources.

Third, purchase seeds for a wide variety of food crops, both foods you like and foods you don’t like (remember, you are not just doing this for yourself, but for every person on the planet).

Even if the worse case scenarios regarding terminator seeds do not occur, having your own seed vault will be beneficial. You will have a supply of viable seeds to grow for food and you can make a contribution to agriculture by saving rare and heirloom varieties of seeds in your seed vault.

Fight the future! Just because a group of madmen want to control this planet by controlling the food, that does not mean we have to just go along with it! Teach your children the importance of food security. In the process of teaching you can introduce them to a wonderful hobby called gardening, a hobby that could potentially save their lives at some point in our increasingly uncertain future.

Kevin Swindle’s Preparedness Network

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Understanding and Treating Anaphylactic Shock

Emergency Medicine

Understanding and Treating Anaphylactic Shock

1. While I do have a fair amount of medical knowledge, I am not a medical doctor. You should not attempt self-medication or self-treatment when professional medical care is available. However, for the purposes of this post, it is assumed that professional medical care will be delayed or outright unavailable. The treatments I recommend are the treatments I would give to myself and my family if professional medical care were delayed or outright unavailable.

2. Anaphylactic shock is a life threatening condition that can kill in minutes. Never, ever attempt self-treatment or improvised treatment for this condition when professional medical care is available. However, for the purposes of this article it is assumed that professional medical care will be delayed or outright unavailable.

3. For those of you with professional medical training, you will notice that I have over-simplified some of the material in this article, as it is not written for medical professional but for those with little or no medical training.


Anaphylactic shock is a life threatening condition that can be described as a system wide type 1 allergic reaction. It is most commonly caused by bee stings. Without quick treatment, this type of allergic reaction can kill in minutes.

Symptoms-flushing and itching of the skin, hives, feeling of warmth, swelling of the tongue and throat making breathing difficult, nasal congestion, throat tightness, wheezing, shortness of breath, cough, hoarseness, dizziness, low blood pressure, weakness, fainting, chest pain, feeling of doom, heart palpitations, nausea, vomiting diarrhea, bloating and cramps

Common sensitizing antigens come from the following: Bee stings, wasp stings, hornet stings, yellow jacket stings, ant stings (especially fire ants), penicillin type antibiotics, peanuts and food containing peanuts, tree nuts and food containing tree nuts, fish and foods containing fish, shellfish and foods containing shellfish, eggs and egg products, soy and soy products, milk and milk products, aspirin, ibuprofen, and other NSAIDS (non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs).

The insects listed above are Hymenoptera type insects and between 0.5 and 3 percent of the population experience system wide allergic reactions after being stung by these insects.

In the foods listed above, peanuts and foods containing peanuts are thought to be responsible for 62 percent of the deaths caused by anaphylactic reactions to food.

COMMENT: Even if you have been stung by one of the listed insects in the past and not had an anaphylactic reaction does not mean you cannot have an anaphylactic reaction the next time you are stung. The last time you were stung could have been the sting that sensitizes you immune system to that particular antigen.

TREATMENT-Most of the items for standard medical treatment are prescription drugs. We’ll look at the standard medical treatment, then address how you can get those prescription drugs, the look at over the counter items you can use for improvised treatment.

STANDARD TREATMENT FOR ANAPHYLACTIC SHOCK


1. The first line treatment for anaphylactic shock is epinephrine (also called adrenaline chloride) injected intramuscularly (into the muscle).

Adult Dose: 0.3 to 0.5 milliliters (0.3 to 0.5 milligrams) of 1:1000 epinephrine solution injected intramuscularly (IM). For more critical situations inject 1 to 2 milliliters (0.1 to 0.2 milligrams) of 1:10,000 epinephrine solution intramuscularly (IM).

Child Dose: 0.01 milligram of epinephrine solution per kilogram of body weight ? 1:1000 or 1:10,000

COMMENT: Epinephrine treatment of anaphylactic shock is essential. The injectable form of this drug requires a prescription. The inhaleable form of this drug is available over the counter in as Primeatine Mist. The tablet form of this drug, ephedrine, is available over the counter as Primeatine Tablets and as the white cross or mini-thin tablets in convenience stores. INHALEABLE EPINEPHRINE AND EPHEDRINE TABLETS ARE NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR INJECTABLE EPINEPHRINE IN THE TREATMENT OF ANAPHYLACTIC SHOCK. However, we will look at how they can be used as an improvised treatment if standard treatments are delayed or outright unavailable.



There are three ways to get injectable epinephrine from your doctor.

1. The multi-dose vial-This is a good option to keep around the house IF you have medical training and are comfortable giving injections to yourself and others.

2. The Ana-Kit-This is a kit that you can keep at home or keep on your person. (You could probably keep it in your car in a small cooler. Heat causes epinephrine to deteriorate.) I like the Ana-Kit because it has enough epinephrine for a second injection if necessary.

3. The Epi-Pen-This is a good option for people with little or no medical training and for people who are not comfortable giving injections to themselves or others. The Epi-Pen is an auto injector. You simply place it against your skin and activate it. When activated a spring loaded needle deploys penetrating the skin and injecting the epinephrine. If your really afraid of shots, this is the best option.

If you have never had an anaphylactic reaction, tell your doctor you simply want to be prepared just in case. Some doctors will say yes and give you the prescription, others will not. If your doctor will not write the prescription, consider asking your dentist or veterinarian. (I often find veterinarians are some of the most down to earth medical professionals. It’s hard to develop a God complex working on animals. Many times veterinarians will give you prescriptions for drugs like this, if you only ask. However, for liability and legal reasons, the prescription will have to be written for a pet, real or made up.)

2. In addition to the epinephrine, treatment with an antihistamine that blocks histamine 1 receptors, while not absolutely necessary, is highly desirable. The best drug of this type to use is diphenhydramine (Benadryl). The adult dose is 10 to 50 milligrams injected intravenously (IV) or intramuscularly (IM) every 4 hours as needed. If injected intravenously (IV) the IV rate should not exceed 25 milligrams per minute. The child dose is 12.5 to 25 milligrams by mouth 4 times per day.

COMMENT: diphenhydramine (Benadryl) is available over the counter in the form of syrup, capsules, and tablets. The injectable form of this drug requires a prescription.

If diphenhydramine (Benadryl) is not available, other antihistamines can be used, such as:

chlorpheniramine maleate (Chlor-Trimeton)-over the counter
promethazine (Phenergan)-prescription only in U.S., over the counter in Great Britian
triloprolidine-over the counter
meclizine (Antivert)-over the counter, also sold as Dramamine Less Drowsy Formula
cyclizine (Marezine)-over the counter

3. If possible, in addition to epinephrine treatment plus an antihistamine that blocks histamine 1 receptors, treatment with an antihistamine that blocks histamine 2 receptors can be useful. A common drug of this type, available over the counter is ranitidine (Zantac). The dosage is 150 milligrams by mouth twice per day. Cimetidine (Tagamet) is another drug of this type.

COMMENT: In the professional medical setting these drugs are almost always given by the intravenous (IV) route for the treatment of anaphylactic shock.

Optional #1. For breathing difficulties caused by anaphylactic shock that do not respond to epinephrine, inhaleable bronchodilators are useful. Albuterol (Proventil, Ventolin) is a drug of choice for this. The adult dose is 1 to 2 inhaled puffs every 4 to 6 hours.

Optional # 2. For very severe anaphylactic reactions or for the treatment of delayed effects of anaphylactic reactions, corticosteroids can be used. Methylprednisolone (Medrol Dosepack) or dexamethasone (Decadron) can be given by mouth in the form of tablet. These drugs can also be given intramuscularly (IM) or intravenously (IV).

Optional # 3. The drug glucagon (GlucaGen) and dopamine (Intropin) also have use in treating low blood pressure caused by anaphylactic shock that does not respond to epinephrine treatment.


Glucagon (GlucaGen) is for use in anaphylactic shock patients who are taking the non-selective beta-blockers like propranolol (Inderall) for blood high blood pressure. In these patients, glucagon should be used in addition to epinephrine, not in place of epinephrine.

SUMMARY OF STANDARD MEDICAL TREATMENT OF ANAPHYLACTIC SHOCK

1. Injectable epinephrine solution-absolutely essential
2. Injectable or oral diphenhydramine (Benadryl) or other anti-histamine-highly desirable but not essential
3. Oral ranitidine (Zantac)-desirable but not essential
4. Inhaleable albuterol (Proventil, Ventolin) for breathing difficulties that persist despite epinephrine treatment.
5. Injectable or oral corticosteroid treatment for delayed anaphylactic symptoms.



IMPROVISED TREATMENT USING OVER THE COUNTER DRUGS

Anaphylactic shock is a life threatening condition that can kill in minutes. Never, ever attempt self-treatment or improvised treatment for this condition when professional medical care is available. However, for the purposes of this article it is assumed that professional medical care will be delayed or outright unavailable.

1. Epinephrine inhalers such as Primeatine Mist-These inhalers ARE NOT a substitute for epinephrine injection, however, if injectable epinephrine is delayed or outright unavailable, these inhalers are certainly better than nothing. Use according to directions on the box. The goal of this improvised treatment is to prevent airway constriction and to get some epinephrine into the bloodstream via absorption through the lungs.

2. Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) Syrup-Take 2 capfuls of diphenhydramine syrup and gargle for 1 minute then swallow. The goal of this improvised treatment is to keep the throat from swelling shut due to the anaphylactic reaction and to get the antihistamine into the bloodstream. If you do not have the syrup but have tablets or capsules, you can still make use of the drug. Chew the tablets and then put some water into your mouth and gargle the drug and water solution. If you have capsules, open them and mix them with water or any available liquid and gargle the solution.

3. Ephedrine tablets’ such as the white cross or mini-thin tablets sold in convenience stores. These tablets are also sold as Primeatine Tablets. Take 1 or 2 of these 25 milligram tablets. If ephedrine tablets are unavailable you can take pseudo-ephedrine (Sudafed) tablets or phenylephrine tablets (Sudafed PE). These are also beta-agonist like ephedrine and will give some degree of relief. The goal of this improvised treatment is to get epinephrine like oral drugs into the blood stream.

4. While not technically a drug, hot tea contains the drug theophylline, which is used to treat asthma and can be used to treat anaphylactic shock if other drugs are not available. If hot tea is available, drink two cups of it.

5. Mormon Tea is a herb that contains ephedrine. The seeds for it are available from Richters Herbs. The dried leaves make a good addition to a herbal medical kit. Drink the tea hot to release the ephedrine.

Food Storage and a Preparedness Fantasy

I hope all of my readers have now started some kind of food storage program. As I’ve stated before, for most people, money will be the limiting factor in your preparedness plans. Do the best you can with what money you have NOW. Even if you can only store a small amount of food, storing some food is better than storing no food.

Here is an example of what WILL NOT work if the situation is bad enough:

One preparedness/survival fantasy I’ve heard many people tell goes like this: “Kevin, if there is a food shortage I’ll just get out my rifle, go out to the woods, and kill a deer to feed my family.” Depending on what part of the country the person is from, they may replace deer with whatever animal is plentiful in their area.

What is my reply to this fantasy? Bullshit. Conditionally.

This strategy might work in the event of a severe economic downturn or other events that are relatively minor. However, if a “big” event occurs, this strategy will fail and will likely get you killed.

First let me define what I mean when I say a “big” event.

1. An exchange of as little as 20 ICBM’s (Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles) carrying nuclear warheads between the United States and a foreign power. Its worth noting that most ICBM’s can carry at least 6 nuclear warheads and each of those warheads can be independently targeted. In practical terms that means a single ICBM carrying 6 warheads can take out 6 cities. So in this hypothetical scenario of a 20 missile exchange, lets say that Russia launches 10 ICBM’s against the United States and the United States launches 10 ICBM’s against Russia. If each missile carries 6 independently targeted nuclear warheads (some ICBM’s can carry a lot more than 6) that means that 60 cities in the United States and 60 cities in Russia are either destroyed or non-functional. For our purposes, forget about the cities in Russia (I have no readers in Russia, yet.) However, do consider that 60 cities in the United States are either destroyed or non-functional. Do the math: 10 missiles with 6 independently targeted nuclear warheads = 60 cities destroyed.

(On a side note, if you are under the belief that the proposed U.S. anti-ballistic missile program could stop this, you are mistaken. Russia has developed a new missile called the Topol-M, referred to by the U.S. military as the SS-27. It is essentially the most advanced ICBM ever created, the fastest ICBM ever created, and it is invulnerable to EMP (electro-magnetic pulse). On 30 May 2007, the Russian news agency Pravda announced it tested the R-500 missile, a version of the Topol-M that can carry multiple independently targeted warheads. This missile traveled 3,400 miles in 24 minutes. Both of these missiles are carried on mobile launchers, so they are very difficult to target).

2. An asteroid as small as 1/10th of a mile wide hitting any spot on the North American continent, an asteroid as small as ½ mile wide hitting anywhere in the western hemisphere, or an asteroid 1 mile wide or larger hitting anywhere on the planet. If the 1 mile wide asteroid hit anywhere on the planet, it would kick up enough dust into the atmosphere to block out the sun for 3 months to 2 years or more, even if it hits in the ocean. Also, even if it hit on the other side of the planet, it would kick up debris so high they would go into space and re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere and fall back down on the other side of the globe. This would occur even if the asteroid came down in the ocean. We’re not talking about small rocks either. We’re talking boulder size or larger chunks of rock, chunks of rocks big enough to destroy anything from large buildings to small towns.

3. A civil war in the United States. This is not as far fetched as some of you might think. A massive economic downturn might be all that is necessary.

4. The U.S.A. is invaded by a foreign power. My nomination for the most probable invaders would be a Russian-Chinese alliance. Such an alliance would most likely have help from North Korea, Syria, and Iran. I think their strategy would be to first seize everything west of the Rocky Mountains, including Alaska and Hawaii. This would be done with a combination of airborne operations, amphibious landings and with containers on container ships modified to carry troops. Such an alliance could do this without using nuclear weapons. However, given the number of troops China has, the U.S. would probably have use tactical nuclear weapons (as opposed to strategic nuclear weapons) to stop this invasion.


Now that you know what I mean by a “big” event, let me explain why the survivalist’s deer hunting fantasy will not work if a big event occurs.

You may recall that in a past issue, I CONSERVATIVELY estimated that for every 1 person or family that prepares, there will be 200 who do not. In practical terms, that means when a big event occurs, there are going to be a lot of hungry people. When their small supply of food runs out, many of those people who own guns will head for the woods to try to kill deer or whatever animal is plentiful in their region.

Think about that for a minute. Tens of thousands of people in each state heading for the woods with guns. Most of these people will have no hunting experience, AND they will be starving. In practical terms, that means they will shoot at anything that moves, and they will not take the time to identify their target before shooting. Do you want to be in those woods with those people? Better bring your bulletproof vest and body armor.

Even if you are in those woods, it really does not matter. With that many people in the woods, the supply of game will be killed down to nothing in a very short time. It does not matter what state you are in and how plentiful your supply of game is. My state, Alabama, has one of the highest deer populations in the nation (some experts say that Texas is the only state with a larger deer population than Alabama). After a few weeks, the deer population in Alabama would be decimated down to essentially nothing.

However, it gets worse. In addition to having to dodge bullets from non-experienced, starving hunters who will shoot anything that moves, there are other dangers. If the big event # 1 that I listed previously occurs, and exchange of ICBM’s between the U.S.A. and a foreign power, any game you kill is likely to be radioactive. If 60 U.S. cities were hit, there is going to be a tremendous amount of radioactive fallout. It will be in the water the deer drink and in the plants the deer eat. So if you eat the meat from one of these deer, the radioactive fallout will be in you. Depending on how much fallout you ingest, you could live for years with almost a 100 percent probability that you will develop cancer sometime in the future, or you could die a gruesome death in a period of a few days. Still want to head for the woods to get them deer?

If big event # 2, an asteroid 1 mile wide or larger landing anywhere on the planet, land or ocean, occurred, it would kick enough dust up into the air to block out the sun for 2 months to 2 years or more. So if you are going to feed yourself and your family by killing deer, your going to need night vision goggles and a night vision rifle scope. But that ain’t all. An asteroid this large will kick large boulders up into space, and most of them will come down and re-enter the earth’s atmosphere. Because of something called friction, when these boulders re-enter the earth’s atmosphere, they will get very hot, red hot. If one of these red hot boulders comes down in a forest, your going to have a forest fire. So in addition to your night vision goggles and your night vision scope, you may want to bring some fireproof clothing and a portable supply of breathable air, or a device to filter the smoke from the air you breath. Still want to be Davy Crockett?

If big event # 3 or # 4 occurs, you still face the problems of non-experienced, starving hunters who will shoot anything that moves being out there, and the problem of all the game being killed off in a very short time. Also, in events # 3 and # 4, you may run into enemy soldiers who have guns. When they hear you fire at them deer, they will direct a lot of firepower in your direction.

It still gets worse. One word: cannibalism. Yes, it is sickening, but it has happened in the past under extreme situations and there is no reason to think it will not happen again when extreme situations occur in the future.

Picture this: A man who did not prepare for his family is out in the woods with a gun. He had enough food to last a week under normal conditions, but in the crisis of the big event, he stretched it out and made it last 3 weeks. After three weeks, he heads for the woods. All of the game has been killed. Suddenly he sees you, but you do not see him. Keep in mind he has a starving wife and 3 starving children. Do you think it is far fetched to think he might shoot you? After all, if he brings home fresh meat, do you think his starving wife and kids will ask where it came from? Remember, he butchered you in the woods, so there is no evidence that the meat is that of another human. If you think this is far fetched, go to the internet and do a search using the word “cannibalism”. You will see the many times it has happened in history.

So, if you have the survival feed your family by deer hunting fantasy, I suggest you give it up. If the previous material does not convince you to give up this fantasy, I doubt anything will.


So what kind of food should you store? Freeze-dried is by far the best. The company Mountain House is one I highly recommend. I have some of their individual meal packs I purchased in 1999, just in case the Y2K scenario came true. They are past the expiration date by at least 2 years and they are still fine to eat. Mountain House also manufactures freeze-dried food in large steel cans. They cover the outside of the steel cans with a chemical similar to clear nail polish to protect the food from oxygen in case there are any microscopic defects in the steel. Mountain House claims, and I believe their claim, that they have tested freeze-dried food in these steel cans that is over 20 years old, and that it was still fresh and good tasting.

The down side to freeze-dried food is that it is relatively expensive compared to other survival foods. Also, you need water to prepare freeze-dried food, so in an emergency freeze-dried food will take more of your water supply than other foods.

Dehydrated food also puts a drain on your water supply. However, it does not last as long as freeze-dried food. If you have to pick between freeze-dried food or dehydrated food, I recommend you go with freeze-dried. The cost difference between the two is not that great.

However, as I have stated before, for most people, the biggest limiting factor in their preparedness plans will be money. So what do you do if you can’t afford the freeze-dried option?

MRE’s (meals ready to eat) or as at least one member of the military has called them, “meals ready to exit”, are the field ration of the United States Military. I’ve eaten them, and the taste of some of the items is very good. However, the shelf life of MRE’s is highly dependent on temperature, much more so than freeze-dried food. ( NOTE: High temperatures will shorten the shelf life of ALL types of stored food.) If you have a cool place to store them, MRE’s are not a bad option. I WOULD NOT rely on MRE’s for more than 20 percent of my stored food supply. Why? In the military there is a saying that is often repeated: “Remember, your rifle was made by the lowest bidder.” So are MRE’s. What if you get a bad batch? If you buy MRE’s for food storage I suggest you buy them from many different suppliers. This will reduce the chance of any portion of your MRE’s being from a bad batch.

If money is a real problem for you in your preparedness efforts, dried beans and grains are what you may have to consider. I DO NOT ENDORSE VEGETARIANISM AND I DO NOT THINK IT IS A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE. Raising a child on a vegetarian diet is, in my opinion, child abuse. Why? Because a vegetarian diet lacks something that children need for development, vitamin B-12. Many vegetarians claim you can get vitamin B-12 from a vegetarian diet. They are wrong. What you get from a vegetarian diet are analogs of vitamin B-12, chemicals that have a similar but not the exact 3-dimensional structure of vitamin B-12. These analogs DO NOT function properly in the biochemical reactions in the body requiring vitamin B-12. Vegetarian diets are also low on another important nutrient, carnosine.

One can however, get all your protein requirements using dried beans and grains. Have you ever heard of a dish called red beans and rice? Do you know why red beans and rice is often associated with good health? Because this particular combination provides all of the essential amino acids in the proper ratios to produce a complete protein.

It is beyond the scope of this article to go into the details of what beans to mix with what grains. However, you can buy books that list the amino acid contents of all common foods. Using one of these books you can easily determine what combinations will provide a complete protein. You need a combination of beans and grains that provides adequate amount of ESSENTIAL amino acids to get a complete protein. Essential amino acids are the amino acids that your body cannot manufacture and must be obtained from food. If you use beans and grains as your primary method of food storage, you should also store supplemental vitamin B-12 in the form of tablets or in the sublingual supplemental form (a tablet or liquid of vitamin B-12 that dissolves and is absorbed under your tongue.). Vitamin B-12 is also available in injectable form, but you need a prescription to get it.

WARNING: I DO NOT recommend that you use soybeans as a storage food. Soybeans and soy products in general, like tofu, ARE NOT HEALTHY. Soybeans are loaded with phyto-estrogens. Phyto-estrogens are estrogens, female sex hormones, made by plants. DO NOT FEED YOUNG MALE CHILDREN SOY PRODUCTS, ESPECIALLY SOY “MILK”. In fact, don’t feed soy products to ANY children or teenagers. Soy products also contain chemicals that inhibit protein absorption.

You can buy a lot of dried beans and a lot of dried grains for very little money. You should store the dried beans and grains in plastic sealable containers in a cool, dry place. It is a good idea to put duct tape or Gorilla tape around the seals on these plastic containers as an extra precaution against insects getting to the dried beans and grain. When you put the dried beans and grains in the plastic containers, leave the beans and grains in the plastic bag in which they were purchased.

The company Emergency Essentials sells “SuperPails” of many beans and grains. These pails contain about 45 pounds of product. This company is also a good source for MRE’s and freeze-dried food, as well as other preparedness supplies. Their web site is: www.beprepared.com Their phone number is 1-800-999-1863. Call and request their monthly mail out. For the record, I have no financial ties with this company, but if they ask you how you heard about them, please mention this blogspot.

Human See Human Do: Deception and Why it Works So Well

Human See Human Do

Deception and Why it Works So Well

Introduction

As a species, we humans are very easy to deceive. As if that were not bad enough, certain individual and groups of individual in our species earn their living deceiving others. These include lawyers, politicians, lobbyist, special interest groups, and big business. The individuals and groups of individuals who make this all possible on a day to day basis are collectively referred to as mass media

Before the rise of mass communication, especially visual mass communications (television), it was more or less impossible for a single individual or a small group of individuals to deceive on a grand scale. A single individual or small group might deceive the people of their town, village, city, or region, but that was the extent of how far an individual or small group could deceive.

Today using modern visual mass communications (television), a single individual or small group of individuals such as lawyers, politicians, or robbers in suits can sell the other members of their species almost anything. Please note that the word “sell” in that last sentence was placed there purposely. Deception is essentially selling, usually the selling of an underlying idea that is often hidden on purpose.

Psychology

As human beings we gather quite a bit of our information about life by watching others. If the other humans we observe are competent and have no intention to deceive, the information we gather will usually be accurate and help us lead more productive lives. But what if the other humans we observe intend to deceive? What if they modify their words and actions to sell us on their ideas?

It’s very important to note that it is much easier to fool human beings using visual information than it is to fool human beings using audio information. This is why television marketing is so successful. Indeed, if you want a statement to sum up deception of human beings, this is it: The eyes deceive us.

Most human beings in industrialized societies get most of their information from television, a means of communication that exploits the human vulnerability to visual deception. This present’s a multitude of opportunities for individuals or groups of individuals who wish to deceive us, or, more correctly stated, want to sell us their ideas.

Concrete Examples

Tugging on the heart strings: This method uses strong visual data to get the human being emotional about a given problem. Once the human has gotten emotional, the messenger then suggest a solution for the problem that helps the messenger’s agenda while hiding the real cause of the problem. A common example of this is the television adds that show starving, malnourished children in third world countries. Seeing children in such condition id deplorable and few humans are not affected emotionally when seeing such sights. So then the messenger takes advantage of the emotionally affected human and may suggest, ever so covertly, that the emotionally effected human should somehow feel guilty over this and send in a donation.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not opposed to charitable giving. If you have the means, one should give to the poor. However, for this example it’s worth looking at what the messenger does not tell you.

In many of these countries where you see the children dying from malnutrition, the reason these children don’t have enough food is because warlords and corrupt government officials hog all the food for themselves and dole it out to their sycophants. Also, the people in these countries are prevented, by their governments, from owning firearms. Thus, they have no way to remedy the situation.(My solution to world hunger would involve the distribution of simple break open shotguns and ammunition to the starving people, starting with women who have children. Let them make examples of a few warlords and corrupt politicians who hoard the food. Putting fifty buckshot in someones center mass sends a strong message.)

The food the United States and other countries give the poor people of these countries just continues these poor people’s states of dependency. Giving people food does not address the fundamental problem: Why can't they produce and distribute enough food? There is an old saying that goes like this: “Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime.” Maybe we should give the worlds poor the skills and resources to be independent and self reliant. One charity I greatly like who does this is Heifer International. They give livestock to poor people all over the world to help them achieve self-reliance. Their web address is www.heifer.com

Expert fixations: This method uses visual deception to present a picture that the people who are speaking are experts whose ideas and solutions should be trusted. A very good example of this technique is the Sunday morning panel news shows. They have supposed “experts” dressed in nice suits and ties. The “experts” then sit around a nice table and discuss the matter at hand in the most serious tone of voice. The set up implies, ever so subtly, that these “experts” only have everyone’s best interest at heart at that it is impossible for these “experts” to have their own agenda. However, if one looks at the pronouncements of these “experts”, the idea that they are experts and are free of their own agenda becomes suspect.

“Free trade benefits everyone in the United States.” Never mind that when the United States rose to global economic prominence after World War 2, the United States practiced ruthless protectionism and hit foreign products with high tariffs. Never mind the fact that the top one percent on the planet are getting richer while the other ninety nine percent are getting poorer. (See the book Bad Samaritans by Ha-Joon Chang.)

“Illegal aliens do the jobs that U.S. citizens won’t do.” Correction: Illegal aliens do jobs for wages no U.S. citizen would accept.

“Some businesses and banks are too big to fail.” Kinda like the Roman Empire, right?

“We will have to give up some of our constitutionally guaranteed freedoms to protect the United States from terrorism.” Really? I thought that the terrorists, not the U.S. Constitution, was the cause of terrorism.

COMMENT: The use of “experts” is one of the most effective techniques of deception used by visual mass media. Indeed, there are many people in the U.S. today who automatically give someone “expert” status if that person talks about a given subject on a television news show, never mind the fact the person has no expertise. Just because someone is on a tv news show does not make them an expert. Just because someone gets a lot of tv time does not mean they are competent in their field of "expertise".

The Bottle Neck: This method uses a setup similar to the expert fixation in that it employs a highly controlled panel of “experts” to limit the range of choices for the human who is watching. They push other human being towards an intellectual bottle neck.

During presidential elections this method is used to suggest, sometimes directly and sometimes indirectly that you only have 2 real choices to vote for in the presidential election. On the television shows that use this method, there will be several “experts” who will tell you why you need to vote democrat and there will be several “experts” who will tell you why you need to vote republican. These shows rarely consider 3rd party candidate’s or candidates in the 2 major parties who are not considered to be in the group that runs everything in the 2 parties

In the last presidential election, Ron Paul, while a republican, was treated like a libertarian (a third party) because of his strong stance on being true to the United States Constitution. Notice how Ron Paul was treated during the republican debates. Notice how he was given much less time to speak than the other republican candidates, and when he mentioned the Constitution, the other republican’s facial expressions looked as though they were listening to some crazy uncle, thus sending the message that Ron Paul was not a real choice.

These three examples are but a tiny fraction of the deceptions techniques perpetrated by visual mass media (television). Given that there are so many techniques of deception, it is good to have a few general rules to apply to protect yourself from deception.

Rule # 1-To the largest extent possible, get your information by reading. Even though reading uses the eyes, it is essentially an audio means of getting information, as most people hear the words in their mind when they read them.

Rule # 2-Get your information from multiple sources.

Rule # 3-If you must get your information from mass visual communication (television), always ask yourself the following question: “Could there be an alternate explanation?”

Rule # 4-Work off the assumption that anyone talking about a given subject has their own agenda. Everyone has a dog in the fight.

Rule # 5-Be wary of the beautiful. Psychology has shown that people who are more attractive are considered more competent than people who are less attractive, even when objective data proves the lesser attractive person more competent. This is why television broadcasters have really pretty women and quarterback type men anchor their news shows.

Rule # 6-Be wary of those on television who try to get you excited. Getting people excited is a basic sales technique. When you get excited clear-thinking leaves the building.

Rule # 7-Avoid being intimidated. People who sell so called “self help” merchandise use this technique all the time. They say things like “Winners do this” or “Losers do that.” And of course, to be a winner you must buy their product or accept their ideology.

Rule # 8-If you are male, be a man and think for yourself. If you are female, be a woman and think for yourself. Other people, especially the so-called experts may have more knowledge and training than you, but that does not mean their judgement is better than yours. The experts may have knowledge, but thats no guarantee they have wisdom.

Rule # 9-Be very skeptical when the mass media bakes broad and general cconclusions.

Crisis, Martial Law, and Black Market Operation

Crisis, Martial Law, and Black Market Operations

In the coming years, I think there is a strong possibility that there is going to be crisis and martial law in the United States and in other nations as well. During such periods, the items you need to survive will become increasingly scarce, especially if the crisis and martial law goes on for an extended period of time.

This article could have well been entitled How to Be a Successful Criminal, because what we are talking about bartering during cisis and/or martial law. In crisis and martial law, bartering of goods will be considered a criminal act. As such, if you barter you will be a participant in the black market (at least in the eyes of the government). Remember, during crisis with martial law, you can be arrested for just about anything.

The rules I cover in this article come from the book Black Market Operations: Marketing Theory and the Fencing of Stolen Goods, A report by Ted Roselius and Douglas Benton, associate professors in the college of business at Colorado State University. The book was published by the now defunct publisher Loompanics Unlimited. You may still be able to find the book on some internet booksellers. The book’s ISBN number is 1-55950-017-4. If you can get a copy, I recommend you add it to your preparedness library.

For the record, I do not support criminal behavior during normal times. However, during periods of crisis, especially prolonged crisis with martial law, you have to do what is necessary to survive. Just because the martial law government labels your bartering a “crime” does not make it unethical or evil. On the contrary, your first duty is to provide for your family. (See 1st Timothy chapter 5 verse 8.)

In the book listed above, the author’s list some characteristics of goods that are best for selling and trading on the black market. Let’s examine those characteristics in detail and how the principles will apply to a pure barter economy during a prolonged crisis with martial law.

1. “High Value-generates more cash per risky transaction.”

Selling and trading goods on the black market is always risky. It is especially risky if you are under martial law, as you can be executed for essentially anything. Therefore, if your taking a big risk, you want to make sure that there is a big reward for taking the risk. In crisis or under martial law how much value your barter items have will determine how many goods and services you can trade them for. Some items that will have a high trade value include guns, ammunition, freeze-dried food (see # 2 ), antibiotics, narcotic pain medication, liquor, knives, batteries, and radios Under normal conditions bartering items like narcotic pain medications and liquor could be very risky. However, during crisis and martial law, the bartering of anything can get you arrested and possibly shot. So in crisis with martial law, bartering anything is a high risk activity. Make sure your barter brings enough rewards to justify the risks involved in bartering.

2. “ Low bulk and low perishability”

Any product you sell on the black market will have to be transported and will have to be in useful condition at the time of the transaction. Therefore, perishable items are out in most situations. The same is true for large, bulky items. However, what constitutes large and bulky will depend on your own situation. If you have a large pick up truck, you will have the advantage of being able to transport large items that those without large pickup trucks cannot transport.

Most food will perish very easily. However, freeze-dried food, dehydrated food, and to a lesser extent MRE’s (meals ready to eat) will make good barter items. So will water purification supplies

3. “Branded items”

Here we are talking about items with a brand name on them. People trust branded merchandise. In fact, people trust branded merchandise so much, the criminal class has started branding merchandise like heroin and cocaine by putting them in packages with brands on the package so that users will make repeat purchases of their product.
Imagine this: John Smith has a case whisky he is going to trade for a rifle. He goes to the meeting point and produces a clear glass container with a light brown liquid inside and there is no seal on the top of the bottle.

Now imagine: Peter Sloan has a case of whisky he is going to trade for a rifle. He goes to the meeting point and produces a glass container with a label on it that says “Crown Royal” and the seal on the bottle is in tact.

Imagine if you were the man trading the rifle for the whisky. Which of the two people listed in the paragraphs above would you be more inclined to do business with? The correct answer is Peter Sloan, because Peter Sloan has branded merchandise. John Smith might have cooked up some grain alcohol in a still and put some brown food coloring in it and called it “whisky.”

If the crisis and martial law last long enough, and you can produce useful goods, you should consider coming up with your own brand and putting that brand on your product.

4. ” Non-sized items”

This means items like clothes and shoes are not good items for trading or selling, because you have to find a buyer who fits the clothes you have. This is a GENERAL RULE. (A general rule is a rule that applies between 7 and 9 times in 10) There are exceptions. For example, lets say you live in a relatively remote area and you are having an extremely cold winter. You manage to find someone who wishes to trade a supply of military parkas for items you have. If you are in a situation where you can barter sized items and benefit, do the deal!

5. “Established and well known price”

This rule applies more to the black markets during normal periods than crisis periods and martial law periods. Remember, criminals pay zero for their items because they steal them. (I do not endorse criminal behavior) Let’s say a criminal stole 4 cases of vodka, and the normal price in the legitimate retail world is twenty dollars a bottle, the criminal should make it know that he is selling the product for less than the normal price twenty dollars a bottle.

During crisis and/or martial law, normal pricing rates will go out the window. The prices for everything will go up. However, if the crisis and/or martial law last long enough, established prices for goods and services in the barter economy will develop. By making your barter price slightly below the “established” barter price that develops for a particular good or service, you may have more success than the individual who sticks firmly to the established barter price. Notice I said make your price slightly below the barter economy established price. Say five percent lower than your competitors. If everyone else is trading their extra rifles for 100 bottles of whisky, trade your extra rifles for 95 bottles of whisky. Pricing your barter goods slightly below the barter economy price may give you an edge.

6. A. “Products should not be subject to post purchase dissonance.”

Here the authors were talking about people who changed their mind and want their money back. In simple terms, buyers remorse. During crisis and/or martial law, ALL SALES AND TRADES ARE FINAL..........unless you can get something of more value in the return/exchange process. If the situation is very bad, you should always be prepared to enforce this rule with bullets.

B. “ Low traceability.”

The items you trade should not be easily traceable. Guns are a good example of items that are easily traceable, because virtually all guns produced in the last 30 or so years have serial numbers.

Suppose you trade a pistol to John Smith for 50 freeze-dried meals. Later John Smith is captured by the martial law troops and they find his gun. The serial number on the gun will be traced, and you will soon have government troops knocking on your door.

If you sell or trade anything in a crisis or martial law scenario that can be traced to you, to the best of your ability remove anything from the item you are selling that allows it to be traced, such as serial numbers or identifying marks.

C. “Marketing opportunities increase substantially with and increase in the range of consumer types.”

That is a fancy way of saying with a more varied customer base comes more opportunity to sell and trade. If your dealing with people who need food, having guns to trade is of little use. If your dealing with people who need medicine, having food to trade is not going to help.

With this in mind, I have two recommendations:

1. Provided you have the means, start building a supply of items you can barter. Determine what items are of most value to the people in your area or region. If you have extra money, stockpile items that are of value in your area, provided you don’t break any of the previous rules.

2. Get to know as many people as possible in your area. DO NOT discuss your preparedness plans with them. You simply want to get to know them socially so that in the event a crisis and/or martial law, you will have a larger base of people to trade with. A bonus with this is that you might find some decent people and make new friends.

One last thing: Try to be decent. Get a fair trade when you barter but DO NOT ruthlessly exploit your fellow human beings. Also, if you have large supplies of goods, do a little charity and give away some things to sick people, old people, orphans, and others who cannot fend for themselves. But only do this if you have large supply of goods that will more than take care of you and your family

You Are the Glass

Some people ask the question "Is the glass half full or half empty?" Know what? It does not matter. What matters is that you have a glass.

You and your life are the glass. If you get the knowledge you need and apply it consistantly, in time your glass will overflow.

This does not just apply to preparedness. It applies to every area of your life. If you're not happy with your present situation, get the knowledge you need to fix your situation, apply it consistantly and you and your life WILL improve.

I and S - Improvise and Scrounge

Improvising and scrounging are two very important skills to learn for preparedness and survival. One of the things I have tried to drill into the readers of my newsletter is to do the best you can, with what you have NOW!

In the recent past it was my belief that money was the primary limiting factor on an individuals preparedness plans. However, now I believe that attitude, creativity, and doing the best with what you have now are as or more important than money

Yes, it would be ideal if you could buy a 5-year supply of Mountain House freeze-dried meals in the # 10 cans. However, most people won’t have the money to do that. However, there is nothing stopping most people from buying 1 or 2 cans per month.

Improvising is doing the best you can with what you have now. So lets say that purchasing 1 or 2 cans per month of Mountain House freeze-dried food is too much. You can stock up on dried beans and grains like rice. Buy them in bags at your grocery store and put them in plastic pails with lids on them secured by Gorilla tape.

Scrounging is when you actively search for something you need. Usually if you find what you need, there will be an element of barter involved.

For those of you who are Star Wars fans, you will remember C3PO, a protocol droid fluent in over 6 million forms of communication. Another droid who never made it to the big screen but was in some of the Star Wars books was M3PO, a military droid. Image C3PO in olive green instead of gold. In addition to M3PO’s military training, he was loaded with commodities trading software so he could “scrounge” for what his unit needed when deployed to some backwater planet. Earth could become a backwater planet during several TEOTWAWKI scenarios such as a 1 mile wide asteroid hitting the planet or even a limited nuclear war between the United States and Russia or China.

So how does one learn to scrounge?

First, you’ve got to know your area and know your neighbors. If you don’t know your neighbors and your area, scrounging is going to be difficult. If your neighbor Jack is a welder, you know he’s probably got welding equipment and welding rods. If your neighbor Bill is a carpenter, you know he will have hand tools.

Problem: You need some welding done on your trailer. Jack, the welder will do it in exchange for a large hammer. What do you do? You find something you have the Bill wants and trade that something to Bill the carpenter who gives you a big hammer. You give the hammer to Jack, the welder and Jack does the welding needed on your truck.

The previous example is a good reason to get to know your neighbors and what they do for a living and what skills they have.

Learning your area is also important. Learn what items are in demand in your area and learn who has them. Stockpile these items if possible or have some good or skill you can trade for them.

The Fundamental Law of All Preparedness

The fundamental law of all preparedness is Murphy’s Law, which states: “Whatever is the worst possible event that can occur will occur, and it will occur at the worst possible time.”

Learn it, live it, love it, because it is the truth.

In virtually any situation , if you determine what is the worst possible event that can happen, prepare for it to the best of your ability and to the degree that your money allows, you will usually be on fairly stable ground.

For example, when you go out in a boat, what is the worst event that can happen? Sinking. And when is the worst possible time that it can occur? The time you have no life-jackets on the boat. Therefore, it’s good to make it a rule to always carry a life jacket for each person on the boat. Yet people go boating all the time with no life jackets. Why? They lack something, and that something is what I call RATIONAL CAUTION.

What differentiates RATIONAL CAUTION from paranoia is that rational caution is proactive, paranoia is reactive. A person who has true paranoia see’s danger coming from every direction, but yet such a person rarely if ever studies their situation and apply Murphy’s law to their situation. Such a person is almost never proactive. There are exceptions, but as a GENERAL RULE (a general rule is a rule that applies between 7 and 9 times in 10) most paranoids are almost totally reactive.

Simply put, rational caution makes you sleep better at night, while paranoia keeps you awake

Some Basic Preparedness Questions

1. How much potable (drinkable) water do I have in storage and how long would it last me and my family if all other sources of water were gone? Ideally, you want to have 2 gallons per person per day. If most of your stored food is freeze dried or dehydrated, raise this amount to 3 gallons per person per day.

2. What chemicals and/or devices do I have to make non-potable (non-drinkable) water fit to drink? Chemical treatments include chlorine, iodine, and hydrogen peroxide. Devices may include equipment to boil water, charcoal filters, reverse osmosis devices, ultraviolet light system, and distillation apparatus.

Most everyone has the ability to boil water. Boiling will not remove the particulate matter in non-potable water, but it will generally kill most micro-organisms. Boil the water for 10 minutes.


3. How much stored food do I have and how long would it last if all outside sources of food were gone AND all sources of electric power were gone? HINT: This means all frozen food and foods requiring refrigeration are GONE. (Freeze-dried food is the best for long term storage, but it is expensive relative to other foods for storage. Canned goods are the option many people will have to use.)

4. How much essential medications do I have on hand and how long would they last if all sources of them were gone? (Essential medications are over the counter and prescription medications you take on a daily or near daily basis.) If you take a lot of prescription medications, this may be a very important issue for you. For Prescription medications, most insurance companies will pay for only a month’s supply at a time. There are ways around this I will address in a future issue.

What about over the counter medications you use on a regular basis? How long would your supply last if you were cut off from all sources of these medications?

5. Do you own any firearms? If yes, do you know how to use them? Are they reliable? Guns that have not been shot in 50 years should be considered unreliable until proven otherwise. What about ammunition? How much of it do you have?

With regard to preparedness I CONSERVATIVELY estimate that for every 1 person who is prepared, there will be 199 who are not prepared. When a crisis comes (and it will), those who did not prepare are going to come to those who did and try to get help. Some of those seeking help will ask. Some will not be so polite and they will try to take your preparedness supplies. That is why firearms are so important.

Understand the following and understand it well. You are under no moral obligation to help those who could have prepared but decided not to prepare. Perhaps they spent all their extra money on SUV’s, etc. YOUR PRIMARY DUTY IS TO YOUR FAMILY.

WHEN THE UNPREPARED COME TO TAKE THE SUPPLIES YOU STOCKPILED FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY, YOU MAY HAVE TO USE DEADLY FORCE. THIS IS WHY FIREARMS ARE SO VERY IMPORTANT IN ANY SURVIVAL PLAN.

Some will no doubt say that such a stance is un-Christian. If you believe such a stance is un-Christian, I suggest you read 1 Timothy chapter 5 verse 8.

One of the best recommendations I can give you is to keep your preparedness efforts secret. Tell your other family members, including the kids, to keep your preparedness efforts secret. That way, when a crisis comes, you may not have to worry about the unprepared trying to beat down your door.

6. What supplies do you have for energy? Generators are good, provided you know how to use them and they are reliable. What about natural gas? Do you have cylinders or tanks of it and heating devices that run off it? There are a lot of fuels you can use for energy-gasoline, diesel, kerosene, propane, methane, liquid propane, and white gas. Each fuel type has its own advantages and its own disadvantages.

You have 3 main areas of concern here:

1. Energy to run essential electric and communications equipment.
2. Energy for cooking and for some water purification systems.
3. Energy for heating and cooling.

Generators are a great investment if you can afford them. Many experts agree that the most reliable generators for long term use (day or weeks) are the diesel kind that run at 1800 revolutions per minute. When choosing a generator, you want to get as much power as is needed to the degree your money will allow. However, don’t plan to run everything in your house during a crisis. Plan to run only the essential items.

Don’t get me wrong. If you have a lot of money you can buy a generator system that will run EVERYTHING if the power goes down, but you are going to spend a good amount of money to get such a system.

One of the best investments you can make for cooking is a wood stove, provided you live in a region where wood is abundant. The Coleman Company also makes a wide variety of cooking devices that run off small, portable propane cylinders or Coleman fuel. These cooking devices are so small even an apartment dweller can store them.

Energy for heating does not have to come from electricity. Many companies make space heaters that run off propane or other gases. Your main area of concern when using these systems indoors or in areas that are not well ventilated is the buildup of carbon monoxide gas.

7. How much CASH money do you have on hand?

In a crisis, you can work off the assumption that checks and credit cards will not be honored. The more severe the crisis, the more this will be the case.

Start putting back a little bit of cash every month. Even if it is only $5.00 per month or less, that is a start. Put it in a secure place and in a place where it is safe from fire. In a crisis, this stockpile of cash will come in handy.

Ethics-Helping Those Who Cannot or Will Not Prepare

There are some people in this world who do not see or understand the value in being prepared. The people who make up this group represent about 99 percent of this planet’s population. Because such people make up such a large group, it is very dangerous for the people who do prepare to believe that the people who do not prepare will have no affect on us should a crisis present itself.

You may be thinking: “Who cares? They had their chance to prepare, and they didn’t!” Well, life is never that cut and dry. Also, the question is one of ethics, doing what is right. What really is the point of surviving if your going to have to live out your days with people who are moral cretins? Indeed, if that is the world we who prepare will have to inhabit after a crisis, we had better come up with methods to purchase and store lots more ammunition.

So who do you help and who gets priority. In answering this question I look to the Judeo-Christian Ethic.

1. Your first duty is to your spouse and your children. If you are serious about preparedness your spouse and children should already be covered to the extent that your funds will allow.

2. Your parents come in second after your immediate family. Your parents may not have believed in preparedness or they may not have had the money to prepare, but the reason they did not prepare is irrelevant. You have a moral obligation to help them in a crisis. However, what defines “help” is indeed a tricky issue. Also, keep in mind that your duty to your spouse and children DOES take priority over your duty to your parents, per my interpretation of the Judeo-Christian Ethic.

I wrote in an earlier issue of this newsletter that one of the best policies to adopt is to keep your preparedness activities secret. Don’t discuss your preparedness activities with anyone except those people who are in what you might loosely refer to as a “network” of others involved in preparedness in your area, and even then be very careful. Teach your children not to discuss your activities like food storage with other children. In a crisis, the unprepared will come and beat at your door the same way the unbelievers came to the door of Noah’s ark when the rain started.

With that in mind, if your parents live close to you, say 50 miles or less, taking them into your own survival retreat is probably the best course of action, PROVIDED they can keep their mouths shut. If they are inherently more concerned about the survival of their own family over the survival of others (non-family), a quality shared by virtually all rational people, you are probably on safe ground. However, if they are of the type that spout off mindless religious mantras such as “All people are equal in God’s eyes.”, (A TRUE statement when taken in it’s proper context) then you are going to have problems. Simply put, if your parents have the “egalitarian socialist ethic”, and they will tell everyone they talk to about you cache of food and supplies because doing anything else would be “unfair”, you are better off helping them out from a distance, by giving them food, medicine, money, and supplies but NOT bringing them into your survival retreat. Keep in mind however that if they are the type who tell everything they know to everyone, once they realize you have supplies, everyone who has any contact with them will also know you have supplies. So your BEST option for helping in such a situation might be to give them food, medicine, money, and supplies anonymously.

If your parents live a long distance from you, say over 200 miles, giving them any real help in a big crisis is going to be hard. My advice is to plan ahead. If your parents who live far away are not in the habit of being prepared, the Christmas season provides a wonderful opportunity to help them. Potential Christmas gifts in such a situation might include generators, a supply of freeze dried food, emergency medical kits, books on preparedness, water purification equipment, cold weather clothing, propane cylinders and heaters, pump action shotguns with 1000 rounds of ammunition, you get the idea. IMPORTANT: DO NOT BEAT THEM OVER THE HEAD WITH THE PREPAREDNESS SERMON-A MAN CONVINCED AGAINST HIS WILL IS OF THE SAME OPINION STILL.


3. Your siblings, brothers and sisters, come in 3rd place, and all of the warnings and suggestions I gave in the section on parents apply here.

4. Your extended family comes in 4th. This includes aunts, uncles, and cousins. Again, all the warnings and suggestions in the section on parents apply here as well.

It’s doubtful, neigh impossible, for a single member of a family who did prepare, to effectively help all 4 groups without killing their own family in the process. If you can help your parents and siblings, you will be doing far more than most. Always remember who takes priority over who.

Assuming it would actually be possible (it isn’t) to help all family members including extended family, one would now be faced with the question of what type of help, if any, should I give to non-family members who did not prepare? Keep in mind that from this point on what I am discussing is largely theoretical.

If one group came to mind, it would be those non-family members who were not able to prepare themselves because of severe mental or physical disability. If you were to find yourself in a position to help such a person without compromising your family, then help them. Why? Because they are entitled to our help by right? No. Because it is simply the decent thing to do. I would also add that as a student of preparedness, this is the one group of the non-prepared that I would have sympathy for, and more importantly, empathy for, in a crisis.

After those who were not able to prepare because of severe mental or physical disability, it is probably the right thing to put the poor next in line. By poor, I mean those individuals who had no money to prepare because just surviving normal day to day living took all of their money. I AM NOT speaking of individuals who were “poor” because they lost all their money at the casino’s, or on other self-destructive activities.

Excluding those individuals with severe mental or physical disabilities and the poor, essentially everyone else you will deal with in a crisis had some chance and ability to prepare, but chose not to. Maybe they lived in a house that was too big. Maybe they had expensive vehicles. Maybe they had expensive recreational activities. Maybe they were simply stupid, or worse yet, intelligent but purposely ignored the facts.

When dealing with those who could have prepared but chose not to, there is really only one guiding principle: Be a decent human being guided by rational self-interest. Rational self-interest is not an immoral concept, as many people would have you believe. In fact, during and after a crisis, it is perhaps the most ethical position one can take when dealing with those non-family who were unprepared by choice. Why? Because there is no reasonable way one can judge who among this group is more worthy of help. Sure, you COULD judge them by what they say, but their action of non-action, being unprepared when they had the means to be prepared, speaks louder than anything they can or will say.

Remember, I said be a decent human being. Do not exploit the position of such a person, but DO engage in value for value transactions when dealing with those who are non-prepared by choice. If you help them, make sure you get some kind of benefit in return. Benefits are not always concrete things like food and supplies. A benefit might be technical expertise. A benefit might be intelligence. A benefit might be something as simple as the advise from an older person with more real world experience than you. Just make sure you get SOMETHING of value in return for your aid.

When crisis comes, you cannot sacrifice for everyone. If you attempt to do so your preparedness efforts made for your family will amount to nothing. Family comes first.

With this in mind it seems no surprise to me that one of the goals of socialism is to destroy the family unit, and replace the family unit with the state. The Most High God established the family unit as the foundation of society. So if anyone tells you that you should sacrifice the preparedness you made for your family for the good of the unprepared masses, remember whose side such a person is on.

Thomas Jefferson’s Ten Rules

We would all be much happier if we followed these.

1. Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.

2. Never trouble another for what you can do yourself.

3. Never spend money before you earn it.

4. Never buy what you don’t want because it is cheap.

5. Pride cost more than hunger, thirst, or cold.

6. We seldom repent of having eaten too little.

7. Nothing is troublesome that we do willingly.

8. How much pain the evils cost us that never happened.

9. Take things always by a smooth handle.

10. When angry, count to ten before you speak:if very angry count a hundred.

Applying the Nez Perce Survivor Rule of Three’s

The Nez Perce Indian tribe was the first group to fully develop the survivor rule of 3's. Preparedness author Ragnar Benson describes the rule of 3's like this: “The Nez Perce discovered that for everything really, truly important to life, three separate and distinct methods of supply must be developed.” That quote was from Ragnar’s book Ragnar’s Urban Survival: A Hard-Times Guide to Staying Alive in the City. To my readers who do not own a copy of this book, I give it the highest recommendation. You should own this book even if you DO NOT live in the city, as it is a treasure house of practical information about all aspects of preparedness and survival.

Comment: It is my opinion that Ragnar Benson and Duncan Long are the two best survival and preparedness writers on this planet. If you have the money, I recommend you purchase and read every book they have published.

Lets now study how we can apply this rule to the most fundamental survival supplies. Remember, that for each topic covered, you want to have at least three methods readily available.

Water Purification

Method 1-BOILING-This is the most basic way to kill micro-organisms in water. In issue 1 I described a basic, bare bones survival kit. One thing I mentioned was a small stainless steel ceramic coated pot for boiling water. If you boil water for 15 minutes, you will kill virtually all of the micro-organisms in the water. Some say that 15 minutes of boiling is overkill. However, I doubt that any of the people who say 15 minutes of boiling is overkill have ever experienced giardia (pronounced jar-dee-ah), also called “beaver fever” because the organisms that cause it are found in the fecal matter of beavers as well as other animals. Giardia is very unpleasant. Boiling is the bare bones water treatment method, meaning virtually anyone can afford the equipment to do it.

BOILING IS THE BEST AND MOST RELIABLE METHOD FOR KILLING ALL STOMACH AND INTESTINAL PATHOGENS THAT ARE ACTIVE IN MAN THAT CAN BE CONTRACTED FROM WATER.

Comment: The drug of choice for treating giardia (beaver fever) is the antibiotic metronidazole, sold under the trade name Flagyl.

Method 2-WATER FILTERS AND PURIFIERS- There are several means of treating water that utilize technology.

The KATADYNE FILTER SYSTEM is one of the best on the market. Most of the Katadyn units will filter micro-organisms down to the size of 0.2 microns. This level of filtration will remove giardia and cryptosporidian, two of the most common causes of waterborne illness. Katadyn makes units small enough for one person and units that can treat water for a large group. The Katadyn website is www.katadyn.us/ .

The STERIPEN is a device that purifies water by using ultraviolet light. You put the pen in a glass of water, turn it on and stir the water for around a minute. This device also kills cryptosporidian and giardia. This is an excellent item to put in your personal survival kit, but I do not think this unit is practical for large scale water purification. The Steri-Pen website is www.steripen.com . The companies toll-free phone number is 1-888-826-6234.

The MIOX unit is a device that works like this: Place some table salt and a small amount of water in the unit and turn it on. When turned on the unit runs an electric current through the salt solution, causing a chemical change in the solution. The solution is then poured into the water you want to purify. I do not know the specific chemical change that takes place when the electric current goes through the water, however, since table salt (sodium chloride NaCl) is used, it is almost a certainty that the chlorine atom is separated from the sodium atom by the electric current.. The manufacturer claims the Miox unit is effective against crptosporidian and giardia.

The Miox unit and the Steri-Pen unit are very small and easy to transport, but they are expensive relative to boiling. Depending on where you purchase them, these units could cost from one hundred to two hundred dollars. The various Katadyn systems start at prices below one hundred dollars, but larger units can cost more than one thousand dollars

Method(s) 3-CHEMICAL TREATMENTS- There are numerous chemical treatments that can be used to purify water.

CHLORINE BLEACH (CLOROX)-Standard Clorox bleach has 5.25 percent available chlorine. The active ingredient in Clorox bleach is sodium hypochlorite (NaHOCl). WHEN USING CHLORINE BLEACH FOR WATER PURIFICATION, MAKE SURE THE PRODUCT YOU BUY HAS NO SOAP, SCENTS, OR PHOSPHATES IN IT. If it has any of these present, it should not be used for water purification. Many companies add soap or scents to their chlorine bleach since the most common use for chlorine bleach is cleaning.

Warning-chlorine bleach (Clorox) does not kill giardia and cryptosporidian.

If the chlorine bleach you are using has 5.25 to 6.00 percent available chlorine, use 8 drops per gallon to treat water if the water is clear. If the water is cloudy use 16 drops per gallon.

Note: Over a period of a year, chlorine bleach loses about 50 percent of it’s water purifying power. If your bleach is over one year old, you will need to double the numbers from the previous paragraph. IF CHLORINE BLEACH IS GOING TO BE A BIG PART OF YOUR WATER PURIFICATION PLAN, IT IS A GOOD IDEA TO WRITE THE DATE YOU PURCHASED IT ON THE CONTAINER WITH A PERMANENT MARKER. This is not a perfect solution because you will probably not know how long the bleach has been sitting on the store shelf. You can minimize the problem this poses by purchasing your bleach from establishments that sell it in large amounts, where the stock of bleach will be constantly depleted and replaced.


CALCIUM HYPOCHLORITE-Calcium hypochlorite is used mostly for treating the water in swimming pools, but it can be used for making drinkable water. Unlike sodium hypochlorite (Clorox), it is a solid, not a liquid. To disinfect water, add 1 heaping teaspoon of calcium hypochlorite with 2 gallons of water. This mixture will produce a chlorine solution of 500 milligrams per liter. Add 1 pint (16 ounces) of this chlorine solution to every 12.5 gallons of water.

Warning-calcium hypochlorite does not kill giardia and cryptosporidian.

CHLORINE DIOXIDE-This product is marketed by the Katadyn company under the name Micropur Purification Tablets. This product is effective against bacteria, viruses, giardia, and cryptosporidium. I really like this product and I recommend you use it over any of the iodine treatments we will cover next. Chlorine dioxide’s ability to kill bacteria is relatively unaffected by pH values between 4 and 10. It is also effective for washing vegetables. IF YOU CHOOSE ONLY 1 CHEMICAL WATER TREATMENT, THIS IS THE ONE I RECOMMEND. The Katadyn website is www.katadyn.us Their phone number is 1-800-755-6701. Comment: This product takes 30 minutes to kill giardia and 4 hours to kill cryptosporidian.

IODINE TREATMENTS-A warning about iodine treatments: It appears that while iodine can kill bacteria, viruses, and giardia, IODINE IN THE DOSES RECOMMENDED BY THE MANUFACTURER WILL NOT KILL CRYPTOSPORIDIAN. Therefore, I do not recommend iodine treatments of any kind as a first line water treatment. Iodine treated water can be toxic if the iodine crystals are not removed before drinking, and some people are allergic to iodine.

Fire

Fire is so essential to survival I believe you should have not 3, but at least 5 ways of making it. There are 3 items you should have in every survival kit.

1. A BIC TYPE DISPOSABLE LIGHTER. Ideally purchase a pack of 2 or 3 and leave them in the plastic until they are needed.
2. A ZIPPO TYPE WINDPROOF LIGHTER and a bottle of lighter fluid and a pack of extra flints.
3. 4 BOXES OF WATERPROOF MATCHES.

It’s a good idea to keep these three items in a zip lock plastic bag. If you store your kit in your vehicle and you park your vehicle in a hot area, you will need to check the Bic type lighters from time to time as the fuel will evaporate over time even if they are in the plastic package. The same is true for the lighter fluid for the Zippo type lighter.

Comment: In survival situations, there is no point roughing it simply for the sake of roughing it. In fact, such action is stupid and has the potential to get you killed. It may be good to know how to make fire by rubbing two sticks together, but don’t plan on using such primitive methods to save your life or the life of your loved ones. When emergencies occur, you will be stressed enough, so don’t make things harder than they need to be by resorting to primitive methods when there are more effective methods available.

Lets look at some other sources of fire.

LIFEBOAT MATCHES-these matches are virtually impossible to blow out once they are lit. However, the downside is that they are very hard to strike. Once lit they burn for 7 seconds or so. They are also waterproof, but do not use these in place of the waterproof matches I mention in the 3 items for every kit. These things are just too hard to light. They do have their place if you live or are traveling to an arctic environment with high winds.

FIRE GEL-also called fire paste, this product comes in a tube a little smaller than a toothpaste tube. It has the thickness close to that of pancake syrup. You simply squeeze the gel onto the item you want to burn and light it. I think this is a very good product, however, you should keep your tube of fire gel in a zip lock bag as if the tube leaks, you do not want it to spill into your survival kit.

CHEMICAL FIRE-There are several chemicals that can be stored separately that will spontaneously burn when combined. One such combination is potassium permanganate (KMnO4), a solid, sugar (sucrose), a solid, and glycerine, a liquid. When these three chemicals are combined, they spontaneously burn. If you choose to use this method, each chemical should be kept in an unbreakable container with a secure top.

THE BIRTHDAY CANDLE THAT CANNOT BE BLOWN OUT-Most of you have probably seen these gag candles at a birthday party. The person blowing out the candles on the cake can never blow these out. If you can find these, GET THEM. A candle that cannot be blown out can be very effective in building fires, especially in high winds.

PARAFFIN/SAWDUST FIRE STARTERS-These fire starters can be purchased or made at home. They contain paraffin wax that is impregnated with sawdust. They are excellent for getting a fire going. One of the benefits of making them yourself is that you can make them in any size or shape you like.

To make them yourself you will need a double boiler. A double boiler consist of two deep pots, one larger than the other. The large pot is filled with water. The smaller pot is placed into the larger pot filled with water. The larger pot is heated and the water in it transfers the heat to the smaller pot, in which you will put the paraffin and sawdust. You DO NOT want to put a pot with paraffin wax in direct contact with a flame, as a fire will result. That is why you use the double boiler.
Once the double boiler becomes hot, place the paraffin in the smaller pot and allow it to soften to a liquid. Once the paraffin is in a liquid state, add the sawdust to the mixture and stir until you get a homogenous mix. While the paraffin and sawdust mixture is still liquid, pour it into whatever mold you have selected. Some people use ice cube trays, but you can use a mold of whatever size and shape you choose. IDEALLY, YOU SHOULD DO THIS PROCESS OUTDOORS. DO NOT OVERHEAT THE PARAFFIN AS IT WILL BURN IF YOU OVERHEAT IT.

PROPANE TORCH-These are the small brazing torches that are found in hardware stores. You simply screw in a cylinder of propane and light the torch. While used mostly for brazing copper pipe, there is no reason they could not be used as a fire starting tool, especially in wet conditions. The small torch and the cylinder would take up little space in a large survival kit, and in wet or snow conditions this item would make fire building much easier.

COMMENT: Don’t be afraid to improvise when it comes to preparedness and survival. If something like the propane torch mentioned above works, USE IT! There are no set rules in this whole preparedness and survival thing. Use what works! If you have an idea that seems crazy, test it! If it works, use it!

Food

You need 3 sources of food. Some of your food will be in the form of stored food, some of it will not.

FREEZE-DRIED FOOD-This is the best food for storage. It is more expensive than some other stored food, but if it is economically possible, this is the best food to purchase for long term storage. Mountain House is the best freeze-dried food company in this writer’s opinion. That does not mean that other companies that produce freeze-dried items are of poor quality. Mountain House cans are made of stainless steel and are coated with a substance similar to nail polish to seal any micro-defects in the stainless steel. Mountain House claims these cans can stay fresh 20 years or longer if they are unopened and stored in a cool, dry area. I believe their claim. Also, Mountain House freeze-dried food is very good. In emergencies good food can make a big difference in the morale of you and your loved ones. Remember to factor in the amount of water that is needed to reconstitute freeze-dried food in your water storage plan.


MRE’s-Meals ready to eat, the standard ration of the U.S. Military. At least one U.S. military man has called them “meals ready to exit”. Also keep in mind that like everything else the military purchases in large amounts, MRE’s are produced by the lowest bidder. If you are going to use MRE’s as part of your food storage plan, I suggest you buy them from many different suppliers, thereby minimizing the chance of getting a bad batch of MRE’s.


DRIED BEANS AND GRAINS-I discussed this in the last issue of the newsletter, and for some of you, this may be an option you will have to go with. If you combine the right beans with the right grains, you can get a complete protein, just like that in meat. If dried beans and grains are going to be a large part of your food storage plan, I suggest you supplement your diet with vitamins, especially vitamin B-12.


DEHYDRATED FOOD-Given the marginal difference between the cost of freeze-dried food and dehydrated food and the fact that both require water to reconstitute the food, I advise that you do not use dehydrated food. The quality and storage life of dehydrated food is less than that of freeze-dried food.



GARDENS-If you have the land to do it on, I advise that you plant a warm weather garden in the spring and cold weather gardens in the fall.. Include vegetables that you like to eat. Some plants I consider essentials include:

hot peppers-for seasoning bland food and for their high vitamin C value-8 times that of citrus fruits
tomatoes-good for stews, soups
potatoes-another source for vitamin C, also a very filling food
carrots-good source of vitamin A

One excellent book on survival gardening is Gardening when it Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times by Steve Solomon.

Fertilizer is important for gardening if you live in an area with nutrient poor soil. In crisis situations, you should work off the assumption that you WILL NOT be able to purchase commercial fertilizers. Therefore, you may have to make your own. The book I listed above has a recipe for making fertilizer.

You can create a simple but effective fertilizer by using wood ashes, ground animal bones, and dried animal blood. It’s a good idea to put such a mixture directly into the soil instead of applying it directly to the plants and the soil surface since it can burn plants due to the high nitrogen content of the animal blood.

GREENHOUSES-If you have a large home in the city, you can easily turn a room in your house into a green house. This will give you the ability to grow fruits and vegetables all year long. You can also make a greenhouse by adding on a section to your house for that purpose. Adding a section onto your home for a greenhouse can be expensive, and it is not for everyone. However, if you love gardening, this is an option worth studying. With a greenhouse you also have the option of using hydroponics, growing plants using water/nutrient solutions but with no soil. Hydroponics is not cheap, but those who use this method for gardening say their produce taste much better than anything grown in soil.

LIVESTOCK-For those of you who live in the cities, this is not a good option. However, for those of you who live outside the cities this is something worth considering. The main issue is deciding what livestock to raise.

Ideally, you want livestock that is low maintenance, but “low maintenance” is relative to other livestock. However, I think it is safe to say that unless you are already in the business of raising them, beef cattle are out. The same goes for dairy cattle.

Pigs are a good option. In times of low food, pigs can fend for themselves to some degree. They are more intelligent than dogs and have a sense of smell better than a dog. Purchase as many as you can comfortably maintain. In determining what is comfortable you have to consider how much money you have to spend for feed and medicine and how much time you have to do all the things that are necessary for the pigs upkeep.

Chickens are another option to consider. Guinea hens provide an intruder early warning system in addition to their egg production and their food value. There are many companies on the internet that sell chickens and all the equipment and medicine to raise them.


AQUA CULTURE-I’m talking about ponds. If you have a lot of rural land, ponds are an excellent option for a reliable food supply.
Fish-There are a large variety of fresh water game fish you can stock your pond with. However, digging and setting up a fish pond is something you will probably need expert help with. Once set up though, you will have a fairly reliable source of food. There is some routine maintenance involved such as water testing.

Turtles-If you have a fish pond and you decide to add a turtle pond, you are going to have to put a fence around the turtle pond to keep the turtles from getting into your fish pond and eating the fish. However, there is not a lot of maintenance required for a turtle pond. Alligator snapping turtles are a good species to consider putting in your turtle pond. They grow very large producing a lot of meat. They are very aggressive, all the more reason to have a fence around the turtle pond. A little known fact: 4 tablespoons of turtle blood have as much nutrition as 10 eggs.

The turtle pond will need to be stocked with some fish so the turtles will have a source of food. Frogs will also naturally migrate to a pond and they will also serve as a food source for the turtles.





WILD GAME-LAND ANIMAL-In my last issue, I wrote an article about a preparedness fantasy some people have. In that fantasy they get their gun and go out and kill wild game to feed their family during a large scale crisis. In that article, I explained why that just won’t work. However, one can look at wild game as a food source of opportunity. If it appears, there is no reason not to take advantage of it.

Taking advantage of it requires the right guns. A rifle chambered for the 30:06 Springfield caliber can take down any animal on the North American Continent when loaded with a cartridge that has a Swift A-Frame bullet. The Remington Safari Grade ammunition is loaded with this bullet.

For smaller game, the 12 gauge shotgun is your best choice. The key here is to get 12 gauge shells of varying shot size so you can kill small game as large as turkey all the way down to game as small as doves. I say it is your best choice because in addition to killing small game with the correct size shot, it can kill larger animals if loaded with buckshot or slugs.

When going after wild game that presents itself, remember the survivor rule of thermodynamics: Never expend more energy to get the food than you get from the food. For example, lets say you kill 2 quails and get 500 calories of food from each of them for a total of 1000 calories. However, you stalked them for 3 hours in the cold and rain and burned 1500 calories. You burned 1500 calories to get 1000 calories. Do you know what you got? Nothing? No, you got worse than nothing. You got 500 calories closer to starvation because you burned 500 calories more than you acquired from your hunt.

YOU WILL NOT BE A SURVIVOR IF YOU RUN AROUND IN THE WOODS ALL DAY LOOKING FOR GAME. IF THE GAME PRESENTS ITSELF, TAKE IT, BUT DO NOT MAKE ANY GREAT ENERGY EXPENDITURES TO GET IT.

If you are not a hunter, it is a good idea to find out what wild game is available in your area and to study the behavior of those animals.
Understanding the behavior of the game will increase your chances of successfully killing it should the opportunity present itself.

WILD GAME-AQUATIC ANIMAL-Rivers, lakes, ponds, and the oceans are full of food-IF you have the tools to take it. A good rod and reel are the bare minimum tools you will need to take fish, but the rod and reel is not the most energy and time efficient means of doing so. Nets are far superior, and you get a much greater return for the time and energy you expend. In most areas, nets are not allowed, but remember, we are talking about emergency situations. If you have the means, purchasing and storing nets is a good idea if you live close to any bodies of water that contain fish.

COMMENT-There is a website called Buckshot’s Camp that sells an excellent emergency fishing kit.

In my state, Alabama, it’s common to see trot lines whenever you are boating in rivers. The trot line is a fishing method that requires little energy. You simply deploy the trot line, leave it, and come back periodically to check it to see if fish have taken the bait.

Fish are not the only aquatic animals. Most survival experts DO NOT recommend hunting alligators or crocodiles for survival food, and while I do not consider myself an “expert”, as a general rule, I have to agree that hunting these animals is more danger than it is worth. But there are exceptions. In areas like Louisiana, Florida, southern Alabama, southern Mississippi, and southern Georgia, there are a LOT of alligators. While I don’t recommend anyone go into the swamps to try to kill one, if the opportunity presents itself in an emergency situation and you have the proper tools, take it. For example, if you live in one of these areas, and during an emergency you find that a gator has wondered onto your property, you have a very good opportunity to get a lot of food with little energy expenditure.

So what are the proper tools for taking a gator? Firearms. Rifles of at least .30 caliber (.308, 30:06) or 12 gauge shotguns loaded with 00 (double ought) or 000 (triple ought) buckshot should be used. Long barreled hunting revolvers in calibers of .44 magnum and above can be used also. Head shots are essential, and you should shoot multiple shots to be safe. However, these animals have very small brains, so multiple shots to the body between the two front legs and the two hind legs are equally essential. DO NOT SHOOT THE TAIL-THIS IS WHERE THE MEAT IS LOCATED. After you shoot the animal, wait for a while before approaching it to be sure it is dead. Before approaching, it is a good idea to throw rocks or large sticks at the animal, again to make sure it is dead. IF YOU APPROACH THESE ANIMALS, AND THEY ARE NOT DEAD, THE ODDS ARE VERY GOOD THAT YOU WILL BE.

When making the decision whether to approach or not, ask the following question: “ Did the animal die in a hail of gunfire?” If the answer is anything other than “yes” you are treading on very dangerous ground.

A few other safety items come to mind when dealing with alligators and crocodiles:

1. If an alligator or crocodile is on land and a good distance from the water, you may try to take it if you have the correct firearms, however, DO NOT TRY TO KILL THESE ANIMALS IF THEY ARE IN THE WATER, AT THE WATERS EDGE, OR WITHIN 50 YARDS OF WATER. Why? 2 reasons. First, where there is one of these animals there will be more. If you get close to the water the animal crawled out of, you will be in danger because there will be more of these animals in that water. Second, these animals move somewhat slow on land, but in water they can move very fast and move in a very stealthy manner. Taking these animals in water is exceptionally difficult even for professionals and requires a group of people. It is simply stupid for one individual to try to take an animal of this type in water.

2. KEEP YOUR DISTANCE FROM THESE ANIMALS. In the above paragraph, I said these animals move “somewhat” slow on land. This does not mean they move so slow that you can be careless. THESE ANIMALS ARE DANGEROUS ON LAND. A swipe from the tail of one of these animals can break the bone in your thigh. Do not get closer than 30 yards to these animals unless you are sure they are dead.

3. Always keep in mind that these animals kill and eat humans on a regular basis.

The tail is the part of these animals you want to take. The meat from these animals tastes like something between chicken and fish.

Comment: If you are going to use a rifle to kill these animals, I recommend ammunition loaded with the Swift A-Frame bullet, such as Remington Safari Grade ammunition.


I hope this article has, if nothing else, started you to thinking about how you can apply the Nez Perce Rule of 3's to your own situation.