When it comes to a portable light, it’s hard to beat something that leaves your hands free and moves around with your eyes. Their cost, usefulness, and weight make them an absolute must-have for preppers.
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I hope that everyone is doing well this morning… I’m always amazed at how fast the weeks, months, and years have passed by, I’ve published this site for 10 years now (started out on google blogger and later moved the site to my own hosting) but looking back it feels like a year has passed since I hit publish on my first post.
Just yesterday, I was talking to my brother and he was telling me that he was looking in the mirror that morning and was surprised at how old he was getting, and I was thinking yep, I’m seven years older, how do you think I feel when I look in the...
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Seems like this year, on a global scale, has been straight out of one of our prepping guides.
Venezuela is a study case for economic collapse, food shortage, looting and anything in between. Riots can be found anywhere from our own country, to what we witnessed in Turkey.
And the most frightening of all, are the terrorist attacks all over the world – and it gets scarier by the day. So, what are you prepping for these days?
1. Define Your Disaster
“Until I seriously became a prepper, the most likely disasters in my life involved my nail tech quitting or my husband insisting on a homemade dinner! How times have changed. Now when I think of disasters, I’m thinking more along the lines of The End of Days scenarios with an unsettling feeling they could happen now, in my lifetime.
For which disaster, or disasters, should I prepare? These days of hard, uncertain times it’s a little like playing the odds. Hmmmmm, should I prepare for a nuclear attack? If so, I’ll need an enormous amount of sheet plastic, duct tape, and I read somewhere that you’re better protected from fall-out if you have a few feet of earth piled up against your outside walls. Our HOA would just love that!”
“Two years ago, Venezuela was a normal functioning nation, relatively speaking of course. It was by no means a free country, but the people still had a standard of living that was higher than most developing nations. Venezuelans could still afford the basic necessities of life and a few luxuries too. They could send their children to school and expect them to receive a reasonably good education, and they could go to the hospital and expect to be effectively treated with the same medical standards you’d find in a developed nation. They could go to the grocery store and buy whatever they needed, and basic government services like law enforcement and infrastructure maintenance worked fairly well. The system was far from perfect, but it worked for the most part.”
3. Potential Crisis Triggers Continue To Pile Up In 2016
“We are a little over half way through 2016 and, at the current rate, it will be a miracle if the year finishes without outright catastrophe in half the nations of the world. Some might call these events “Black Swans,” some might call them completely engineered threats, others might call it all a simple “coincidence” or a tragedy of errors. I stand strictly by the position that most of the dangers we see today have been deliberately escalated, if not strategically implemented.
Here is the problem; international financiers and globalist nut-jobs are clearly operating on a timeline with the end goal of creating enough general chaos to convince the masses that complete centralized authority over every aspect of our lives is preferable to constant fear.”
4. Erdogan’s Staged Coup Has Resulted In A Purge Of 50,000 Teachers, Judges, Soldiers And Government Officials
“Barack Obama’s “friend” in Turkey is a deeply corrupt radical Islamist dictator that has just staged a coup to consolidate his grip on power. As I have reported previously, 1,845 “journalists, writers and critics” have been arrested for “insulting” President Erdogan over just the past two years, and a couple of years ago he had a monstrous 1,100 room presidential palace built for himself that is 30 times larger than the White House. With each passing day, more evidence emerges which seems to indicate that the recent “coup” was a staged event meant to enable Erdogan and his allies to eliminate their enemies and solidify their stranglehold over the nation. At this point the number of victims of “Erdogan’s purge” has hit 50,000, but the final number will not be known for quite some time.
Of course there is a possibility that the coup was not staged, but if it wasn’t staged it was the worst military coup that I have seen in my entire lifetime. As Fox News has pointed out, not a single high level member of government was killed or detained…”
5. How California Still Isn’t Prepared for the Next Big Earthquake
“California is well-known for its diversity. The state is home to every race, culture, religion, or ideology that you could possibly think of. But if there’s one thing that all of these millions of people have in common, it’s that they are all well aware of the dangers lurking underneath the state. Everyone knows that someday, the “big one” is coming, and it’s going to bring California to its knees.
And not only is everyone in California well aware that the state is overdue for some major seismic activity, but everyone has known this for decades. It’s a very basic fact of life that is even taught to Californian kids when they’re in school. It’s not just something that Californians hear about on the news from time to time, it’s a story they tell to each other over and over again. The impending threat of the next big earthquake is ingrained in California’s culture.
This article has been written by Brenda E. Walsh for Survivopedia.
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Vehicle Survival Kit, Get Home Bag, Emergency Gear 2016
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Psychological preparedness is a radically important part of survivalism and might possibly be the determining factor for long term survivalism. In fact, the first step toward getting prepared is making a conscious affirmation to develop a will to live.
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by Dr. Arthur Bradley, author of Disaster Preparedness for EMP Attacks and Solar Storms
Many people are looking for an inexpensive Faraday cage to protect personal electronics from a nuclear-generated EMP. Unfortunately, it requires quite a bit of test equipment to determine shielding effectiveness. On the transmit side, it requires a signal generator, a high-power amplifier, and a broadband antenna. The receive side requires a small, battery-operated spectrum analyzer. I’ve done quite a bit of testing on various makeshift Faraday cages, and this article discusses the effectiveness of a...
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1.) How Russia Is Preparing for World War III: What I propose to do today, is to look at what Russia is really doing in response to the growing threat from the West. But first, I have to set the context or, more accurately, re-set the context in which Russia is operating. Let’s begin by looking at the AngloZionist policies towards Russia.
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Life in Detroit back in the early 40s was idyllic for most—far different than it is today.
America was clawing its way out of the Great Depression and President Franklin D. Roosevelt calmed fears with his homey fireside chats on the radio. Americans were hardy and most exhibited strong work ethic. They had little money, but families stuck together—helped each other, and helped their neighbors as well.
From Promise to War
Kids didn’t have cell phones, IPads, computers, notebooks, X-boxes, video games, cable TV—they didn’t even have TV back then—radio was their communication medium. They played outside with their friends. And they made up most of their games. Marbles and “hide-and-seek” were popular. They walked or rode bikes to see their friends. And no-one locked their house doors. All the kids could play outside until the street lights came on. Then they had to return home.
Parents sat on porches, visited with passing neighbors, and watched children play in the neighborhood. Everyone felt safe and secure. If a child disobeyed, any parent in the neighborhood could discipline the child—including spanking. Then when the child got home, they were given another spanking by their own parents.
The year 1940 was a good year for America—full of promise. The country was getting back to work, and the Great Depression was fading into history. The window to the world was the radio and families crowded around the big box in the front room every night to listen to their favorite programs—Jack Benny, The Lone Ranger, Fibber McGee and Mollie, and The Shadow.
Every Sunday afternoon, a radio announcer would read the comic section of the local paper—people called them “the funnies.”—imitating the voices of the characters as the children laid on the floor and read along. And most families were poor but content.
Then came Pearl Harbor and suddenly our country was thrust into a long, bitter, and violent war. My older brother remembers when the president announced to the world that America had been attacked and uttered his famous statement: “December 7th, 1941, a day that shall live in infamy …” My brother doesn’t remember what was said, but at one year old, he felt the anger and fear that filled our home.
Soon over a million young Americans were putting on uniforms and going off to fight the Germans in Europe and the Japanese in the South Pacific. Eventually almost 14 million would serve. Our dad joined the fight and spent almost two years in action in the Pacific—particularly Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
We were no longer Catholic or Protestant, Jew or atheist. We were no longer Republican, or Democrat, and our skin color or where we grew up didn’t matter. We were all Americans. We were all in this together, and we intended to win. We were at war.
As American involvement increased, the government soon realized we were rapidly expending vital resources sending men, machines, supplies, and food overseas. Washington knew our resources were limited—although manufacturing immediately ramped up, and 3.5 million women went to work—so an Office of Price Administration was established with directions to ration vital resources. Production of new cars was halted during the War so plants could manufacture planes, guns, tanks, and ships.
When President Roosevelt announced to the country that America would begin rationing, my mother knew instinctively what to do. As a Canadian who grew up on a Mennonite farm where the family grew its own food and scrimped and saved, it wasn’t difficult to repeat this lifestyle. Her family in Detroit joined other Americans—mostly immigrants like her—and cut back on the use of meat, fuel, sugar, coffee, shoes, rubber, and other consumer goods so the troops “would have enough.”
The federal government established War Price and Rationing boards in every community to verify and certify households and issue ration books to buy certain commodities. All heads of households were required to register for ration books containing ration stamps. Each stamp had a simple drawing of a plane, ship, gun, tank, wheat stalk, fruit, or alphanumeric lettering, and a serial number.
The stamps were printed in color—red for meat and butter, blue for processed foods, and gray for general commodities. People could purchase rationed products by using ration stamps or compressed wood fiber token representations of ration points and cash. Tokens were used as change for ration stamps because metal was in such short supply.
Sugar was rationed first—one half pound per person per week—half what people normally consumed. One #30 stamp from book 4 plus cash would get you 5 pounds of sugar. Then chocolate was rationed. Chocolate was being used to make chocolate candy bars for the military. Even coffee was rationed—one pound every 5 weeks.
The national speed limit was reduced to 35 mph to minimize tire wear. The Japanese had taken over all the rubber plantations in Indonesia so rubber was very difficult to obtain. Nylon was needed for parachutes and gun powder bags so sale to civilians was quickly banned. Even after the war in 1945, women’s nylons were not available until late 1947.
Gasoline was carefully rationed based on five levels of need.
A letter sticker on the windshield identified the level of need. “A” stickers had the lowest priority. The car owner could purchase up to 4 gallons a week. Gas cost 12¢ a gallon back then.
“B” stickers were for people working in the defense industry. They could buy up to 8 gallons a week.
“C” was reserved for doctors, who were deemed essential to the war effort.
“T” stickers were on trucks. They could buy all the gas they needed.
An “X” sticker gave the holder unlimited access to gas. This sticker was for defense workers, fire fighters, police officers, and ministers. A scandal erupted when about 200 members of Congress were found to be illegally using X ration stamps. Some felt they were above the law.
To help fund the War, children purchased 10¢ victory stamps and pasted them in Victory Book albums that were exchanged for $25 War Savings Bonds when all the stamp spaces were filled. Schools and veteran groups conducted scrap paper drives to extend our supply of paper packing material, and others collected scrap metal for recycling.
Even bacon grease was saved and donated to butchers who collected it and provided it to rendering companies that processed it into glycerine, a substance used for explosives. Some families also used the fat in bacon grease to make soap. My mother did this and used this soap to clean the floors. Because meat, oil, and butter were rationed, she re-used the fat for frying as much as possible before pouring it into a can and turning it into our butcher.
The Lessons We Learned
We became accustomed to shortages and soon more vital commodities were rationed. Adults were allowed 2-1/2 pounds of red meat each week (if it was available). Hamburger cost about 43¢ a pound plus 8 points in ration stamps. Pork chops cost 37¢ a pound plus 7 points in stamps.
Americans found ways to cope. And we found creative ways to make meals. Very few people complained. We considered shortage an inconvenience but not devastating. We shared, we re-purposed old clothes, we handed clothes down to younger kids, we made clothing out of feedbags, we used rags to make warm quilts, and we put cardboard in our shoes to make them last longer. We made do with what we had or made what we needed. This included much of our food.
As the War dragged on, access to even more goods became restricted. In 1943 the government began rationing canned goods. Each person was allocated 48 points of ration stamps per month to buy canned, dried, and frozen food. And people were encouraged to plant gardens in every back yard. President Roosevelt urged all Americans to start “victory gardens” to grow enough fruits and vegetables to help sustain a family through the winter. Posters hung on walls and buildings saying “Plant a Victory Garden – A Garden Will Make Your Rations Go Further.”
A Victory Garden Institute handbook was created with a patriotic red, white, and blue cover. It told people how to start and maintain a home garden. Over 20 million Americans planted gardens in backyards, empty lots, in flower beds, and on rooftops. My mother fell back on her Mennonite upbringing and began to improve soil, compost, and journal her gardening successes and failures.
Today my mother’s journal is a treasure trove of good sage advice for optimum planting, harvesting, and bug control. People talked with their neighbors and like my own parents, millions of Americans grew gardens to produce as much food as they could. If they could produce over five percent of their own food, they felt good. If they could grow over 20% of their own food, they became ecstatic. They shared garden harvests and they taught others how to replicate their success.
By 1944, about 40% of food for America came from Victory Gardens. This program was a huge success—many emigrants were doing this before the government acted and established policies.
Many of them were drying and canning foods from the time they arrived in this country. So when Roosevelt urged all Americans to preserve foods, many thought, “Yes, we already are.”
Home canning became a major food processing industry, and canning was occurring almost every day. By the end of the War, my mother was canning about 200 jars of food each summer. The family constructed a pantry to hold food stuffs, and we never went hungry. By agreeing to produce four quarts of canned fruit per pound of sugar used, she and other like households could receive extra sugar allotments. We ate well.
Americans are highly adaptable, and we survived rationing and victory gardens quite well. Today the victory garden concept is growing popular once more as people realize that the healthiest foods available are those grown at home.
Just like our grandparents who found ways to survive the Great Depression, adults living when WWII ended carried with them valuable lessons for the future. They hoped for the best, but prepared for the worst.
They identified with their local community, and they learned who had the skills they may need. One skilled person welded and repaired most of the vehicles, wagons, and toys in our neighborhood. My mother conducted canning classes where she taught other women how to safely preserve garden produce and fruits. Before being drafted and shipped out, my father taught how to repair vehicles to get the most miles out of each gallon of gas.
Kids entertained themselves building forts and reading comic books playing together in groups of friends. No one was barred from joining the fun. In the evening, neighbors gathered to play cards and board games. Everyone knew everyone else and all felt safe and secure in their close neighborhoods.
As Americans we respected faith, family, and community. We didn’t flaunt our religion. We respected all religions. And we accepted a duty to help others while living within our own means. We learned and taught new skills and we worked together to develop capabilities that would benefit all.
We never knowingly left any family without food, water, or shelter. But we expected each person to do everything they could for the benefit of all—to help carry their own load. And we corrected our own problems. There were those who abused the system, but because they lacked character and integrity, we moved beyond them and they were soon left behind. For us, we never felt alone. And we survived as a community.
This article has been written by Robert Brenner for Survivopedia.
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When we work our way toward a goal of self-sufficiency, a lot of times producing and preserving food comes up. There are lots of methods, and there are thankfully things like dry meats, grains and legumes, and fruits and veggies that can go straight into cellars and other cold storage. However, for most of us, […]
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The liberal main-stream media have their knickers in a knot because Melania Trump “plagiarized” two short paragraphs from Michelle Obama during her speech at the Republican National Convention. However, to support the thesis that liberals are the biggest hypocrites in America, none of the media elite got concerned about the plagiarism of Martin Luther King, Jr. It is a conspiracy of silence to protect a liberal icon. Even now, only a few publications will tell the truth about King.
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Even though many countries are looking to end production of incandescent light bulbs, they are very useful to preppers. They act as ideal sources of heat, light, and can even function as resistors in an electronic circuit.
If you have light bulbs in your stockpile, or still use them around the house, you may be wondering if they are of any value when they burn out. Here are easy ways to repurpose light bulbs and advance your prepping goals at the same time.
Preparing the Light Bulb for Reuse
Most of the things you can make with light bulbs require getting into the bulb itself and pulling out the parts that used to glow. If you have frosted or white light bulbs, you will also have to remove the coating in order to get the most from some of these ideas.
In order to take out the insides of a light bulb, follow these steps. Be sure to wear heavy work gloves and goggles. Cover your work area with newspaper or something else that can be easily discarded once you are done.
Never forget that light bulbs are made of thin glass, and as such can be very fragile. The last thing you will need now or in a survival situation is to wind up with slivers of glass in your hands, or worse yet your eyes. While these steps are very easy to follow, never underestimate the need for safety precautions.
Use a pair of pliers to twist the solder contact in the bottom center of the bulb. Once the contact is loose enough, pull it out of the bulb. While you are pulling and twisting on the contacts, do not put pressure on the glass parts of the bulb. You can grip the metal part of the bulb, or better yet, put it in a vice. Just don’t clamp the vice too hard or you might break the glass part of the bulb that seals to them metal.
Use a screwdriver to break the glass insulator and other parts inside the bulb. You will have to remove them in small pieces. Everything should come out of the bulb, including the tungsten element.
Fill the bulb with water and empty it several times in order to remove any white powder from inside the bulb.
Either let the inside of the bulb air dry, or use a screwdriver covered with a paper towel to dry it out.
Light Diffuser
Aside from housing gas that keeps the tungsten element from burning up, light bulbs are also designed to diffuse light so that larger areas can be illuminated. You can use old, hollowed out light bulbs as light diffusers in chandeliers, or even as a means to increase illumination from LED arrays.
No matter how you arrange the light bulbs, they will provide a steady glow that works better than just the original light source by itself. For example, you can take one bulb that actually works, and then surround it with five or six bulbs that are burned out and cleaned.
You can also use the light diffuser properties of burned out bulbs to increase illumination from candles, oil lamps, and many other sources. Just make sure that when you join the light bulbs together, you do not use flammable materials. Stick to metal wire or anything else that will not start an unwanted fire.
Candles, oil lamps, and any other flame will always carry with it the risk of making sparks. It is not worth the risk to use rope or other more “visually attractive” accents for the diffuser.
Build an Electroscope
An electroscope is used to detect static electricity, and can also be used to detect the presence of nuclear, or ionized radiation. Even though the most optimized Kearny Fallout Meters are made from other simple materials, you can still use a light bulb in an emergency.
There are two ways to construct the inner part of the electroscope:
You can use the traditional design which calls for two gold foil (or aluminum) attached to an electrical conductor. The insulative properties of the glass will help maintain the static charge, which serves to keep the thin metal leaves separated. (If ionizing radiation is present, the leaves will droop or come closer together.) Since UV light can also act as ionizing radiation, you may want to keep the meter in a dark place, or put a black coating on the bulb. Just make sure you leave a peek hole so that you can see in and observe the metal leaves.
A spinning electroscope tends to be more sensitive than a metal leaf design. This type of electroscope may not need charging as often, and it may also detect more subtle levels of radiation.
When operating a nuclear fallout electroscope, remember that you will have to “charge up” the device periodically with static electricity. This does not necessarily mean that ionizing radiation is, or was present. That being said, if you charge the device up and the leaves droop very quickly in a darkened room, then you may tentatively conclude that high levels of ionic radiation are present
Spice Dispensers
Salt, pepper, sugar, flour, and other spice shakers may seem to last forever. On the other hand if you are bugging out, must evacuate, or these dispensers get broken, you may have a harder time than expected replacing them. Simply make a new cap with holes in it for the light bulb, and you will have an ideal spice shaker. If you want the shaker to stand upright, just put it on a platform or suspend from a wire hanger system.
You can also use light bulbs to store herbs on a longer term basis. They can also be easily assembled to sit on spice racks or even on counter stands. If you do decide to use light bulbs to store herbs, remember that they will not be completely air tight, and that you should always make sure the spices are stored in a cool, dry location for optimal shelf life.
If you are successful in surviving a major crisis, there is every chance that one of your primary food sources will wind up being edible insects. You may also wind up in in a situation where you have to evacuate quickly, and there will neither be time nor room to move larger insect farms.
Rather than lose all of your hard work, you can keep a miniature bug farm for each insect stocked with enough reproducing insects so that you can start over again in a new location. Light bulbs are ideal because they are easy to keep clean and you can put several of them in a small box for transport.
Molds for Cement
Light bulbs that fit in a conventional lamp tend to be very easy to grip and hold onto. As such, the bulb itself makes an excellent mold for cement and other materials that can be used to make a number of useful objects. This includes:
Nail and screw type wall hooks. While the cement is wet, just leave some of the sharp end of the nail or screw sticking out of the cement. Once the cement is dry, you can leave the glass in place or break it away from the cement. These hooks can be used as clothes pegs, hanging container gardens, and many other purposes. Just make sure that they are nailed or screwed into wall studs so that there is enough support for the hook and anything you may decide to suspend from it.
Doorknobs and other items can also be made from cement or other materials that can be poured into molds. Just make sure that you add the appropriate hardware before the item dries out.
Try filling two empty light bulbs with cement, and then stick the ends of rope or chain into the cement while it is still wet. You can create everything from hobbles to weapons using this construction method.
For simple, lightweight anchors, you can use one or many cement filled bulbs to anchor rope or other items into the water or into the ground.
Decoys
When it comes to hunting gear, there are more than a few places where decoys can be used to draw a predatory animal to a desired location, or even encourage it to move into a waiting trap. There may also be times when you want to ensure that an animal will avoid a predator and move into your territory instead.
Even though it may take some work to add feathers and other materials to light bulbs, they cans still act as excellent decoys. If you look into crafty ways to decorate light bulbs, you are sure to find many useful ideas.
Fishing Flotation Devices
If you do not have plastic bobs or other flotation devices, a sealed up light bulb may suit your needs. You can use light bulbs on individual fishing lines, fish nets, and any other area where buoyance is needed. Just remember that a glass bulb is not as sturdy as a plastic bottle, so try to limit the weight load as much as possible.
Infusora Hatchery
Well prepared survivors will more than likely look to cultivate animal, plant, and fish resources. No matter whether you grow your own fish in an aquaponics system or start with pairs captured in the wild, it is very important to make sure that you can raise successive generations of fish. In most cases, egg laying fish will eat their own eggs after fertilization, or they will do nothing whatsoever to take care of the fry after they hatch.
Typically, newly hatched fry feed on infusora (tiny micro organisms that grow on rotting organic matter suspended in water). A light bulb can be used in an emergency to house infusorans and also get them to propagate. If you must use a larger container to get them started, the smaller light bulb can still be used as an emergency vessel that can be transported from one location to another.
Contrary to popular belief, a light bulb will never meet the water quality and space needs of a fish. Even if you have to transport fish during a bug out or evacuation proceeding, use some other container that has a wide mouth and will also allow for the operation of an air stone.
Remember that when fish are stressed, they will release huge amounts of ammonia. Even a single fish will be dead in a matter of hours if you try to house or transport it in a clean, hollowed out light bulb.
Light bulbs can, however, can be used as temporary nurseries for newly fertilize fish eggs. If you happen to be dealing with a species of fish that consume the eggs after spawning, simply remove the eggs and let them hatch in a light bulb nursery. Just remember that the fry will need to stay in the nursery for at least 2 or 3 days while they consume the yolk sack after hatching. Once they are ready to eat infusora, you can move them into a bigger container and start feeding them.
A light bulb makes in ideal hatching container because it is much easier to keep track of the eggs and watch them hatch. If you are not sure if the fry are alive, do not tap the bulb or make loud noises. Even newly hatched fry will respond to light from a flashlight and will move around immediately if they can.
Vases and Micro Planters
During the process of expanding on your survival skills, it is likely that you will develop an interest in wild herbs and their cultivation.
Empty light bulbs can be used for cutting vases, and also as covers that will increase humidity for small plants.
This is especially important if you need to root cuttings in soil, and need to preserve a good bit of moisture so that the plant can take it in through the leaves.
Light bulbs offer a perfect reusable solution that will last for years on end.
If you have very limited amounts of space to work with, light bulb vases can easily be suspended from wire tree frames, from walls, and even overhead ceiling hangers.
While you can also use simple stands to keep the bulbs from tipping over, the hanging options can help you take advantage of window lighting with ease.
Many people view burned out light bulbs as completely useless. It should come as no surprise that they make up a significant portion of landfill waste, and are often viewed as useless even in those industries. On the other hand, as a prepper, there are many ways that you can use burned out light bulbs to your advantage in an emergency situation.
Learn how to hollow them out, clean them, and work with them safely. No doubt, once you start using burned out light bulbs in prepper applications, you will come up with all kinds of useful and creative options.
This article has been written by Carmela Tyrell for Survivopedia.
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The most important rediscovery in a post-apocalyptic world will be fried-chicken. Fried chicken will not only be a catalyst for a post-apocalyptic civilization, it will divide humanity into two distinct subgroups.
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FAQ: What's Inside my 72 Hour Emergency Pack? - Preparedmind101
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Reviewing and testing solid lights for the survival/prepper/bush crafter
by Jesse Mathewson
January 2016, a purchase was made of over 20 solar powered, crank powered and alternative powered hand held lights. These flashlights all underwent extensive testing. This testing included the following steps for my personal use.
1. Drop testing (from 4 feet and 6 feet using different angles and surfaces) – I live in the high desert, if they can’t handle being banged around a bit I cannot use them, regardless what it is.
2. Water survivability – just because I live in the high desert, does not...
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For anyone, living in any time period, anywhere in the world, there is a need to trust the government where you are.
We create governments to provide for the common good, and in doing so, give them an enormous amount of power. Yet we see throughout history, that such power is abused.
Part of the problem is the types of people who are drawn to that power aren’t the types we should give it to. Yet, all too often, we do just that. Then, when we the people, are hurt by our governments, we wail and bemoan the way they have acted, especially the way they have acted towards us.
Today, this very same phenomenon is happening all around us. Trust in the U.S. federal government is at an all-time low. People from all walks of life and all parts of the political spectrum are publicly proclaiming their lack of trust in the government ; not all for the same reason, but for a host of wrongs which either the government has done or people think the government has done.
Let me say right here that the U.S. government has beaten the odds when it comes to doing the right thing. As bad as our government has been at times, and as much as we all complain about it, the United States has actually managed to do right, more than wrong, on the world stage. I realize that there are a lot of people who won’t agree with me on that, but the fact remains that the trust our country has received from others is based upon the history of this nation and how we have treated the rest of the world.
That’s not to say that the U.S. government is perfect, because it’s not. Everyone knows that our government has worked to depose rulers and governments which we didn’t agree with. The righteousness of such actions is at best tenuous, as none of us has a crystal ball which we can use to see the real difference such actions have made or what would have happened without them.
Can You Tell Who Is to Blame?
We can’t really blame these actions on just one party or the other, although many people try. Typically, whichever party is currently in power reaps all the blame for whatever happens on their watch. This happens more with the Republican Party than is does with the Democrat Party, simply because the news media is more closely associated with the Democrats. But we conservatives blame the Democrats, just as much as they blame the Republicans; we just don’t have as loud a voice.
But here’s the thing; there are many things which our government does, which transcend the party. If they were mere partisan politics, then when control of the country’s political power changed hands, those things we deem reprehensible would come to a screeching halt.
Yet look at the actions of the NSA. Thanks to Edward Snowden we know much more about the activities of that shadow organization than we ever did before. Yet the revelations that Snowden made weren’t things that just happened during Barack Obama’s presidency. Nor did they start in Bush’s presidency.
The Echelon program, which develops the bulk of the information that Snowden released, was started back in the 1960s. Yet it stayed in place through several changes in presidents and switches in congressional power.
We have to realize and accept that the government, our government, the one which is supposed to be by the people and for the people, really isn’t on our side. They’re on their side; the side of the bureaucrats and politicians. At times that works to our benefit, but there are also times when it doesn’t.
One of the biggest problems we face in trusting our government is that we really don’t know what they are doing. Part of this is necessary so that they can do their jobs, but another large part is willful silence on their part, so that we don’t know what they are doing. This part has long fueled people like Alex Jones who make conspiracy theories their business.
The problem with any conspiracy theory is that simply calling it that or associating an act of the government with that term destroys any credibility. Once something has been labeled a conspiracy theory, it is part of our culture to dismiss it. But that doesn’t mean that it isn’t true. There have been things our government has done, which were incorrectly labeled conspiracy theories. But they actually happened.
When Reality Beats Fantasy
Depending on which list you look at, there are supposedly 33 different conspiracy theories that ended up being true. Whether that list is totally accurate may be another cause for speculation. But I think it’s fairly safe to say that at least some of them actually happened.
Of course, this makes it impossible for any of us to know what is true and what is merely a rumor being floated by whoever wants to make the government look bad. Personally, I think the government is perfectly capable of making themselves look bad, without any of us helping.
Then there are the thing which the government does in secret, which are done for the sole purpose of trying to get we the people to do what the government thinks we should do. While our government may not be as controlling as some others that have existed, pretty much everyone who has power in our government has an agenda, and a lot of that agenda is forcing us to do the things that they think we should… supposedly for our own good.
Take Fast and Furious, as an example. The first I heard of that was when BBC broke the story. In that first article, they said that the purpose of it was to raise the fear of gun violence in the United States, by giving guns to the warring drug cartels of Mexico.
Interestingly enough, I’ve never seen that angle presented in the American news media, not even in conservative outlets on the Internet. But if the BBC was right, our government has engaged in heinous crimes, which resulted in the deaths of innocent people. That’s not conspiracy theory, according to one of the most trusted news sources in the world, that’s fact.
Before you think that our government wouldn’t involve itself in killing innocent people, remember how many wars our nation has been in. Wars, by definition, require killing people. And while our nation has tried to always be on the side of righteousness in the wars we’ve fought, some of them have been seriously questioned.
But wars have not been the only time when our government has gotten involved in mass killings. There have been other times when the federal government has used death as a means to try to control public opinion. One of the most infamous ones of these happened during the Prohibition.
The Prohibition was all about forcing morality down people’s throats, in place of alcohol. Overall, it was less effective than trying to get children to eat their vegetables. But that didn’t stop the self-righteous in our government from trying. They not only outlawed alcoholic beverages on a nationwide basis, but did everything in their power to keep people from drinking.
In this case, “everything” included the very citizens they were trying to save. The Prohibition created a very active black market, with bootleggers making moonshine in hidden stills and running it to speakeasies around the country. Much of that moonshine was created from stolen alcohol; alcohol intended for industrial uses.
Alcohol which is not for human consumption, such as that which is used in industry, is “denatured” to avoid the taxes associated with alcohol intended for drinking. This basically means doing something to the alcohol to make it non-drinkable; either making it taste bad or making it poisonous. While most industrial alcohol of the day was denatured by adding things that would make it taste bad, the government pushed manufacturers to use poisonous chemicals, such as methyl alcohol.
So, what was the result in this propaganda ploy? Over 10,000 American citizens were killed. Many more suffered serious health problems, such as blindness, even though they were not killed. Yet, even knowing that this was killing people, it took years of discussions in Congress to put it to a halt. I ask you, if the government did that then, what would stop them from doing something similar now?
Who Is Paying the Price Now?
I think that there’s a point in which politicians and high ranking bureaucrats lose touch with reality. Specifically, they lose touch with the reality of individual lives. Rather, they see “the people” as a nebulous mass to be manipulated and controlled. Since they are no longer individual lives to be considered, it’s easy for these supposed public servants to see the loss of some of those lives of little consequence, if it could lead to a larger good.
Historically, some of the world’s greatest leaders have fallen into this trap. Joseph Stalin, Adolph Hitler and Chairman Mao were all responsible for ordering the deaths of millions of their own countrymen. Yet they each did it for “the greater good.”
This brings us to the United States of today. I’ve heard conspiracy theory after conspiracy theory over the last seven years, many more than I ever heard before. Perhaps this is in part due to the internet, but I don’t think that’s all of it. The internet didn’t spring into life when Obama was voted into office, it pre-existed his reign by a number of years.
Yet, there have been a large number of “convenient disasters” during his time in office. Starting with the Sandy Hook shooting, and running right through the Boston Marathon Bombing, reports have abounded about how many of the killings have been ordered from the Oval Office… while being sure to maintain plausible deniability.
We all know that one of Obama’s chief goals is to disarm the American people. That’s made clear, every time there is a public death. It doesn’t matter if it’s a police officer killing a supposedly innocent young black suspect… I mean male, or the work of an extremist Muslim terrorist, Obama can be counted on to use it to beat the same drum, over and over again. According to him and those that travel in the same circles, it’s the guns that commit the crime, not the criminals.
In Obama’s eyes, getting rid of guns serves the greater good. Therefore, it’s not much of a stretch of the imagination to think that he would order the killing of American citizens, in order to further that goal.
All he has to do, to justify it in his own mind, is think of the number of lives that he thinks he is going to save by taking guns out of the hands of law-abiding citizens. As he has repeatedly said, if only one life is saved, it’s worth it.
But what’s the “it” in that sentence. The evidence that Sandy Hook was staged by the government is rather compelling. There are just too many holes in the official story, starting with the lack of ambulances and rescue crews at the scene, and ending with the fact that the school has since been torn down. How convenient.
Likewise, there are a lot of holes in the Boston Marathon story, especially in the government’s actions in response to it. Since when is there a need to establish martial law and treat ordinary Americans like criminals, just to catch one or two real criminals?
I know this much for sure. We live in a time when the lack of trust that the average American has for the government is well and truly earned. None of us have any real reason to trust those in Washington, regardless of what political party we affiliate ourselves with or what part of the political spectrum we call home. Our government has stopped working for our good long ago, and is now working to change this country into something that will not be to our benefit.
If there was ever a time in the history of the United States of America to keep our guns and plan to survive without the aid of a central government, now is that time.
This article has been written by Bill White for Survivopedia.
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I hope that others benefit from my slightly different ideas on what a SHTF lifestyle could look like. When I first began preparing I looked for lists of preparedness items and tried my best to purchase as many as possible.
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There are almost as many uses for clay pots as there are ways to make them. They’re decorative, functional, and multi-purpose.
You can make them in any size that you need, and clay pots are used for everything from making sauerkraut to planting herbs, but many other prepper projects can be based on using clay pots.
Learning how to make clay pots for survival can be a fun, rewarding experience that even the kids will enjoy.
Materials to Make Clay for Pots
You probably won’t be able to run to your local craft shop and pick up clay if SHTF, so it’s a good idea to know what clay is made of and how to blend it so that it makes a product that will cure properly. Since clay is sourced from the earth, you’re stuck with what you have right underneath your feet.
Fortunately, you can make clay using many different types of soil, but there are most definitely parts of the country that offer much higher quality clay than others. For example, Georgia clay and clay found in the American Southwest are probably two of the most famous clays, but there’s a good chance that you’re standing on soil, or live near some, that can be used for making clay pots.
There are two basic types of clay that you can use to make clay pots: earthenware and stoneware. They have some significant differences, so let’s touch on that for a minute.
Earthenware
Earthenware clay was probably the clay first used by our ancestors. It has a lot of impurities such as limestone that make it less durable. This type of clay can be made from just about any type of dirt as long as you process it correctly.
The problem with earthenware is that it reaches optimum hardness at lower temperatures, and that makes it less durable and more likely to crack and chip.
Earthenware is fine for many projects but not for fermenting foods, eating or drinking out of, or making items that need extreme durability such as tiles.
Stoneware
This type of clay is relatively pure and thus has a higher firing temperature. Firing is the process used to remove water from the clay at the molecular level, which brings it to optimum hardness. The good side is that you can remove many of the impurities from your clay; not all of them, but many of them. The process is fairly simple and involves letting the soil sit in water so that the sediment settles.
Of course, there are many variations of earthenware and stoneware. They range from clays that are soft and suitable for plants to clays that are durable enough to hold up to hard farm work. Stoneware is best because it’s strong and much more versatile.
Now that you have a general idea of what types of clay you have to work with, let’s talk about some methods to make clay pots for survival.
Pinch Pots
This method sounds simple and it is, once you get the hang of it. Before that, though, you’re going to make some pretty lopsided pieces, so start small until you get the hang of it.
Start with a ball of clay about half the size of a tennis ball; that’s a workable size for a beginner. Roll it to get it nice and round, then poke a hole halfway through or so with your finger. Put your thumbs in the hole, supporting the outside of the ball with your fingers and palms.
Gently, in little pushes, open up the hole around the sides and bottom, spinning the ball in your hands as your go. The goal with this method is to evenly build the walls and bottom of your pot. As the hole starts to open up, use your fingers on the outside and your thumbs on the inside (or vice versa) to pinch your pot into the shape that you desire.
Once you have it in the general shape and thickness that you want, go around with your fingers and feel for spots that are too thick or thin and level them out. If a spot gets too thin, you can smooth in a bit of extra clay.
Once you’re happy with your pot, thunk it gently onto the table to create a flat spot that will be the bottom. Make sure you have the pot as centered as possible when you do this.
If your pot starts to dry out, mist it with a bit of water and rub it in with your fingers. Don’t use much or you’ll have a puddle of mud instead of a pot!
Once you have your pot shaped and a bottom formed, smooth it out using your fingers or a small piece of smooth wood or metal. If you have any cracks, mist a bit of water on and smooth it with your finger. Smooth out the lip of your pot, too. You can use a bit of slip (clay thinned with water) to smooth out the sides of your clay pot.
Now your pinch pot is ready to fire!
Using the Coil Method to Make a Clay Pot
This method is pretty cool and beginner-friendly, too. You’re going to roll out coils of clay about the size of your pinky. Make them a foot long or so in the beginning. That way it’s manageable and your clay won’t dry out too quickly.
Start the bottom of your pot by laying the coils flat and spiral them around each other so that they’re touching. Now use your fingers or a small wooden tool to smooth the coils together.
Once you get the bottom formed, add a coil on top of the outer coil of your base. Smooth the bottom of the coil into the bottom on both the inside and outside. Continue doing this as you build the height of your pot.
Shape your pot by gradually adding longer or shorter coils as you build – if you want a pot that’s completely vertical, use the same size coils all the way up. If you want it larger around in the center, use longer coils as you build up, then shorten the coils as you get toward the top.
Once you’ve got your clay pot built, go through with your fingers and feel for thick or thin spots like you did with the pinch pot, smoothing them out with your fingers or with the wooden tool. You can use a bit of slip to smooth the sides.
Smooth out the lip with your fingers and your pot is ready to fire.
This method is sort of like making a pie! Roll out your clay so that it’s an even thickness of about 1/2-1 inch. Start simple. Cut out a square for the bottom, then cut 4 slabs that are an inch wider than the base. Make them as long as you want your pot to be high. Start low in the beginning until you get the hang of it.
There are a few different ways to merge the pieces but both require two steps. First, you need to score the connecting edges. Use a knife to make some shallow cuts (crisscrosses are good) on each part that will be connected. Second, you’ll use slip as the glue.
Once you have the sides cut, they may be too wet to build the box without collapsing. If this is the case, put them in a plastic bag with some newspaper for 24 hours or so until they’re firm enough to hold up without collapsing.
Method 1
Decide whether you want to attach the sides so that they sit on the base or around the outside of the base. I prefer to set the sides on top of the base, but that’s just me. Now that the sides are dry enough to work with, measure the sides to the exact width that you need them to be and trim appropriately.
Score all edges that will be touching. Start by smearing a small amount of thick (glue consistency) slip on the edges of one side of the bottom and the bottom of one of the sides. (Sounds confusing, but think of it this way – you’re attaching the first side to the base).
Now put the edges together and hold them together for a minute, smearing the slip on the inside sort of like you would grout. Now you’re going to add the second side. It’s the same exact process as attaching the first side, except you merge the sides to each other as well as to the bottom. Smear the slip into the corners and off of the sides so that it’s smooth.
Allow your new box to sit for a couple of days so that the slip dries a bit. Your new box is now ready to fire!
Method 2
The only difference between this method and the last is that you’re going to trim the edges of the sides and bottoms at an angle similar to the way that you’d cut a doorframe so that the angles line up. It gives it a bit of a cleaner look and also makes it hold up a bit better.
Oh, if you want to make a lid, you can do that, too. Just cut a top that’s the same size as the bottom, then trim a lip around the outside so that it sets inside the sides. Let the box dry with the lid on it so that it dries equally and will fit when it’s fired.
Now you know three main ways to make a clay pot for survival! If you have any suggestions or ideas, please share them in the comments section below.
This article has been written by Theresa Crouse for Survivopedia.
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By 1944, about 40% of food for America came from Victory Gardens. This program was a huge success—many emigrants were doing this before the government acted and established policies.
During the process of expanding on your survival skills, it is likely that you will develop an interest in wild herbs and their cultivation.
For anyone, living in any time period, anywhere in the world, there is a need to trust the government where you are.
