The Cor Outfitters Intelligence Community: 2017-07-02

Saturday, July 8, 2017

Prep Blog Review: This Is How To Power Up Your Garden

Give your garden some love this seasons and it will give you back healthy, delicious crops. I can hardly believe that we are already at this point of the year. July is a great month for you summer garden and the question is: what to do first?

The garden is in full bloom, but in the same time the sun is burning, the rains are heavy and the weeds are growing.

July is a busy month so, with this thing in mind, for this week’s Prep Blog Review I’ve gathered five article on this topic. Of course, if you have tips to add, feel free to comment in the section below.

1. How to Keep the Hot Sun from Harming Your Plants
“Sometimes you need to find a balance between sun and shade, depending on the conditions in your backyard, as well as the crops that you are growing. However, even if you have plants that require full sun, they may be getting too much light, particularly in the summer months when the weather is very hot.

This harmful light can bleach out leaves, and disrupt the growing process, even in plants that supposedly thrive in very hot weather. Thankfully, there are some things that you can do to prevent this from occurring.”

Friday, July 7, 2017

What did you do to prep this week?

It’s been a rainy but also hot and humid week here on the Tennessee Cumberland Plateau aka The Prepper Redoubt Of The East and no I don’t have hidden motives nor am I trying to sell you any prepper property here, just letting you know that there are other alternatives for “safe areas” besides moving to the northwest, but I digress.

Many of you have asked for a homestead update so instead of the usual preps for the week, I’m going to use this segment to give you all an update on what I’ve done in the past ten months that I’ve been here at the new...

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Over 36,948,396 Page Views Since 2014 – And I Need Your Help to Make It Even Better

After 10 years of publishing this site, it’s become by far one of the most popular prepper sites online today with over 36,948,396 page views since 2014 (2014 is when I started keeping count), this site has over 4,000 articles published and over 315,000 comments posted by readers like you.

And even though this is the most read prepper how-to site online today, I’m always looking for ways to improve it – I want to make it the absolute best that it can be, and I need your help to do that.

What are we doing right? What are we doing wrong?

What I need you to do is to ...

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Prepping and Survival Tips For Senior Preppers

by Pat N

Remember, peppering is not for just WWIII. It is for:

Attacks on our national power grid that will put us into the 1800s in an instant.
Sun flares can destroy our power grid system.
Sabotage in our pipeline oil supply. There are two (2) major transcontinental pipelines across this country and each is very venerable to attack.
Substantial and coordinated terrorist attacks across the country can create significant disruption in utility services (electrical, gas, oil, and gasoline) across the country.
Our own Government can control the entire population by controlled...

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Health Insurance Cancelled? REAL, Affordable Care

Prepper News Brief for Friday, July 7, 2017

For this column, I visit multiple websites and swim through a river of information to bring you the day’s most fascinating news stories of the day. I cover multiple categories, ranging from politics, the economy, current events and occasionally I’ll even throw in a little celebrity gossip and sports news just to keep it interesting. Please help me spread the word about this column by forwarding it to your email contacts and sharing on social media. Thank you.

1. Google Maps Has Been Tracking Your Every Move, And There’s A Website To Prove It

It is an established fact that no matter what...

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Choosing Chickens for Eggs and Meat

You may think that a chicken is a chicken. Well, if you actually start raising chickens, your thinking will change when you end up collecting eggs from your banty (or Bantam) chickens. They’re about half the size of a regular egg. They’re good for small roasting chickens, though.

Since we’re in the habit of using items that are multi-purpose, the same rule should apply to our farm animals. There are chickens that are perfectly good for both eating and eggs, but it depends on what you’re looking for in a chicken. Let’s talk about a few different breeds so that you’ll have a better idea of what may be a good choice for you.

Weather with chickens should be a consideration when you’re buying chickens, because they tend to be particularly sensitive to extremes of temperature, both hot and cold. Also, you need to consider how much they eat and what your budget is, how docile they are, and how adaptable they are.

There is nothing as empowering as growing and making your own food. Without further ado, let’s talk chickens!

Discover the golden days’ practice for getting all you can eat food without buying from the supermarket!

Jersey Giants

These are, without a doubt, great for both meat and eggs. They grow to be an average of 12 pounds and produce great brown eggs while you’re waiting to eat them. Because they’re so large, they need a lot of feed, so that’s something to keep in mind. The roosters can also be aggressive, but the hens are usually calm.

They come in black, white, and blue and are relatively slow growers, taking 16-21 weeks to mature for meat purposes.

Orpingtons

These chickens grow to an average of 8 pounds or so and will lay around 200 eggs a year, so they’re a good dual-purpose chicken. They tend to get broody in the summer, though, so they a bit less than some other chickens. They’re great “pet” chickens as they have great temperaments and will easily come to eat out of your hand.

Since they’re not huge, they require an average amount of food and they’re docile. Though they’re good layers, the meat is where they really stand out. It’s some of the most tender and flavorful there is.

Orpingtons come in buff, black, blue, and white and take 18-24 weeks to mature for meat purposes.

Marans

These chickens are mostly dark grey with white flutters and are medium in size. They lay about 200 nicely sized brown eggs per year and the meat is delicious. They don’t require much space and are gentle, but not particularly sociable, so though they’re great to collect eggs from, they’re not a fan of being pets.

Sussex

These are dual-purpose chickens that lay around 250 eggs a year. The egg colors range from brown to cream and the chicken is white with black neck and tail feathers. One of the best things about Sussex hens is that they enjoy free-ranging in the garden without destroying it. They’re calm and laid back, and will eat from your hand.

The meat is also good, so they’re just a great choice all the way around, especially for new chicken owners.

Delaware

This is a heavy-bodied bird, weighing in around 8.5 pounds for the rooster and 6.5 pounds for the hen. They lay jumbo eggs, mature quickly, and are great in both cold and hot temperatures. They mature quickly for a non-broiler and have great temperaments. They’re currently on the list of endangered chickens because the Cornish Cross took its place as the country’s top best-tasting meat chicken in the 50s, so help bring this amazing breed back!

They’re white with black neck and tail feathers and look similar to the Sussex.

Dorkings

This chicken is calm and non-aggressive, so it’s great for kids and small dogs. The meat makes it a superior table fowl with large, tender breasts and wings.

They’re hardy throughout the winter, providing eggs when other breeds may not be laying. They’re good broody hens and great mothers that stay with their chicks longer than most chickens.

Leghorns

Yes, as in Foghorn Leghorn. These chickens are white or brown with a big red comb and will lay around 250-280 white eggs per year. They’re good for anybody who wants a dual-purpose chicken that lays lots of eggs, but they are shy and hard to tame. The roosters can be cranky.

Leghorns are especially hardy in hot weather and are good foragers. The hens weigh around 5 pounds each and reach maturity for meat at 16-21 weeks.

Rhode Island Reds

These are probably the chicken that you think of when you imagine chickens pecking around in the yard, or at least they are for me. However, if you’re expecting a bright, all-red chicken, you’re probably not thinking of the Rhode Island Red, because they’re reddish brown with black feathers mixed in, which gives them a bit of a darker appearance. They’re great for both meat and eggs, laying 250 brown, medium-sized eggs per year.

They’re tough chickens that are able to take care of themselves, but they’re super friendly and are great for first-time chicken people.

Hybrids

One great hybrid chicken is the Golden Comet. Hybrids are bred to lay lots of eggs, but eat very little, so they’re an economical chicken. Expect around 280 eggs per year. Though they’re tough and resilient, they’re friendly and rarely turn broody. This chicken is easy to keep, lays lots of eggs, and has decent meat, so what’s not to love?

In addition to choosing the right chickens for your survival flock or homestead, you need to provide them with the best environment, too. A chicken always lays more eggs in its first year, and older chickens will lay less, and it really decreases after the third year. Also, happy chickens lay more eggs.

They need to have the nutrients that they need, too. There are layers pellets that have all of the key nutrients and minerals that hens need.

Make sure that they have plenty of water and light (at least 14 hours), and they coop needs to be clean and well-ventilated. They also like to have a box of sand or diatomaceous earth to “bathe” in, too.

I’ve tried to choose the hens with the best temperaments, who lay the most, largest eggs, and that provide generous amounts of good-tasting meat.

Raising chickens for food and meat is one of the steps you can take today so you can once and for all put an end to this store-bought food dependency we’re all suffering from and that’s slowly poisoning us.

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I’m sure that I’ve missed some, so please feel free to tell me about your favorite chickens in the comments section below.

This article has been written by Theresa Crouse for Survivopedia.

Thursday, July 6, 2017

Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast - Strengthening a Struggling Team

via YouTube Video Don't forget to visit the store and pick up some gear at The COR Outfitters. How prepared are you for emergencies?
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EMP Survival Q&A: Would Nuclear HEMP Cause Fallout?

Can you imagine something worse than an EMP, a disaster that would take us 100 years back?

It doesn’t takes lives in seconds, but rather takes away much of the means of supporting life in a modern culture.

But what if you add a nuclear blast to this scenario?

Mix in the radiation and it gets even worse. right? The world itself would be a radioactive hell, how could anyone survive it? Keep reading to find out the truth!

HEMP (High Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse) is produced when a nuclear weapon is detonated above approximately 20 km (66,000’) altitude, but optimal altitude to affect the greatest area possible of the lower 48 states would be 350-450 km.

While the high-altitude detonation of a nuclear weapon used to create HEMP would not likely produce enough fallout to harm people on the ground, it would still be prudent to ready your radiation detection and protection gear.

The Fallout Danger

The real risk of fallout out in this situation would not come from the HEMP or the detonation of the weapon used to generate it, but from escalation of force or the possibility that the HEMP is used to blind radar preceding a nuclear attack.

The fact of the matter is that if nuclear weapons are used in an HEMP attack against any major nuclear power, there is a very real possibility that it could provoke a retaliatory nuclear response.

In 1995, the world was nearly plunged into global thermonuclear war because Russian radar technicians were not properly notified of the launch of a Norwegian sounding rocket, which was mistaken for a US submarine-launched Trident missile. A principle attack scenario Russia plans for is an EMP first strike by the USA from the Barents Sea to take down their radar in preparation for a nuclear first strike.

The missile would only be in the air for about 10 minutes. That is all the time Russia had to decide and it took 8 of those 10 minutes to determine that the missile was headed away from instead of toward Moscow. The US plans for Russia to attack using essentially a mirror of the same tactic.

Because this tactic is so basic to nuclear warfare strategy, it boggles my mind that analysts (though typically scientists as opposed to soldiers) regularly predict that this country or that would somehow see clearly through the fog of war in the wake of a nuclear HEMP attack and respond to it differently than any other nuclear attack.

Add on top of this, the fact that the HEMP would take their radar off-line it becomes doubly unlikely. Then add that some countries have plainly stated that they would not differentiate between high altitude nuclear attacks and ground or air bursts and it becomes triply so.

The fact of the matter is that it is entirely possible that a HEMP strike against any major nuclear power could trigger a broader nuclear exchange. I get that this outcome is very uncomfortable to consider and that even otherwise rational folks tend to project what they imagine they would do in a theoretical situation if they were the individual with their finger on the nuclear trigger.

They opine that cooler, more rational heads would somehow prevail despite the fact that a nuclear power just got nuked and most communications and radar are down because they cannot imagine any rational person taking a course of action that would condemn millions of Americans to death.

While I would agree that a lesser retaliatory response is likely in response to a lower altitude attack against a single city or localized region, I am not so optimistic that the fog of war in the wake of a high-altitude EMP attack would be easily penetrated.

Since uncertainty about a rocket launch years after the end of the cold war brought us to the brink of nuclear war, I cannot reasonably conclude that an actual nuclear first strike most likely would not result in a response, especially at a time when nuclear threats have already been issued.

GREEN ENERGY – Click Here to find out how you can build your own energy generator.

About the Fallout

Nuclear weapons detonate so energetically that a tremendous vacuum is created in the wake of the blast. A shockwave, blinding light and intense heat are produced, so much heat, that matter inside or sucked into the fireball is vaporized.

When detonated at or near ground level, the vacuum lofts enormous volumes of vaporized dirt and debris up into the stratosphere, forming the characteristic mushroom cloud commonly associated with the use of nuclear weapons.

As the mushroom cloud forms, the vaporized material cools and condenses, forming solid particles. The mushroom cloud of cooling radioactive dust and ash is then dispersed and carried by the wind until it falls back to earth as “fallout.”

While the alpha particles emitted by the radioactive decay of fallout do not penetrate deeply (they can be blocked by a sheet of paper, your skin or a few centimeters of air) they are extremely damaging when concentrated and orders of magnitude more damaging when inhaled or ingested.

Fallout can be inhaled into your lungs and stick to anywhere you sweat, particularly the insides of elbows, backs of knees, neck, arm pits, etc. If exposed to fallout, there are a few things you can do:

Seek professional decontamination from trained first responders, if available.
Remove clothing and shoes. This alone can remove 90% of contamination. Bag and label for disposal. If this is not expedient due to cold or heat exposure risk, at least remove outer layers and shoes.
Use a radiation survey meter to do a full body survey, if available.
Remember that external contamination is far less harmful than internal contamination. Angle water so that it carries contamination away from skin, not over more skin or into eyes, ears, nose or mouth.
Gently clean skin with tepid water and mild soap with neutral ph. Cold water closes pores trapping contamination and can cause hypothermia. Hot water opens pores enabling particles to penetrate the skin, aggravates thermal burns and you should not breath the water vapor (steam) as it will carry isotopes cleaned off skin. Do not scrub or rub the skin excessively. Excessive scrubbing will do more harm than good. If running water is not available, use a damp cloth. If water is not available use Fuller’s Earth clay, clay or clayey soil.
Rise and gently shampoo hair. Do not use conditioner since it bonds particles to hair. Do not shave hair or skin. Knicks compromise the barrier skin naturally provides. Contaminated hair can be clipped if shampooing is ineffective.
Wipe eye lids and ears with damp sterile swabs, if available. If not available, use a clean, damp cloth. Gently blow nose and swab nostrils with sterile swabs, if available. If swabs are tested with survey meter, the swabs must be allowed to dry before surveying for alpha-emitting radioisotopes.
Brush teeth and rinse frequently.
Rise with 3% hydrogen peroxide for pharyngeal contamination.
Use a maximum of 2 decontamination cycles per patient.
Use a radiation survey meter to do another full body survey, if available.
Cover any areas of residual radiation with waterproof dressings to prevent contamination of clean areas.

How to Protect Against Fallout Exposure

A basic understanding of how to protect yourself from fallout can greatly reduce exposure. Time, shielding and distance are your allies.

Time – intensity of radiation produced by fallout diminishes over time. The mix of isotopes resulting is complex with some persisting longer than others, so rate of decay can only be estimated, but between two days and two weeks, radiation levels will be less than 1% of their initial intensity. The longer you can stay sheltered, the lower radiation levels will be outside.
Shielding – the greater the density of materials between you and the radiation, the less radiation will reach you. Earth surrounding a basement, concrete or masonry walls or sandbags provide a measure of shielding from radiation.
Distance – taking shelter in the center of large, multistory building is more effective than in a room nearer and outer wall or the roof. The center of the deepest floor underground would be safest. The same reasoning applies in your own home.

How Situational Awareness Works in case of HEMP

Many preppers invest a great deal of resources in bug out bags, vehicles and locations but would likely sleep through any warning of an HEMP or nuclear strike for lack of a Public Alert Certified All Hazards Radio to receive an alert and automatically warn them in time to get to a shelter. They run $30-$70 and are an oft-overlooked must have that saves many lives every year from a broad range of threats.

After a nuclear attack, there will be many potentially life and death questions and a shortage of information. Is there fallout outside the shelter? Are we being exposed to radiation? How much? Is it safe to go outside and for how long?

Communication infrastructure will likely be severely damaged, especially if the nuclear ground attack is preceded by an HEMP attack. Radiation detection equipment will likely be the only reliable way to answer these questions. An accurate radiation detection instrument can be built using materials you probably have around the house.

If you choose to purchase equipment, research the instrument you purchase carefully because many civil defense meters are not accurate at some exposure levels and some dosimeters detect ranges of exposure to low to be of much use in nuclear war. After you make your purchases, have your equipment tested and calibrated.

Video first seen on CrypticCRICKET.

Even though high altitude nuclear detonations don’t pose a significant fallout risk, any time nukes are popping off, you might consider breaking out the radiation detection equipment and take precautions as opposed to placing your trust in the powers that be.

You are responsible for the safety of your family, not the government, so do not sit around and wait for them to inform you of when it is time to “get off the X” or not. Blind trust did not work out so well for residents of Utah and Nevada after US nuclear testing and they paid a truly terrible price.

Charging and wearing a radiation dosimeter is no big deal. They are about the size of pen, clip to your clothing and measure your exposure to radiation over time.

About High Altitude Burst

When a burst occurs high in the atmosphere, as it would in an HEMP attack, the vacuum it creates cannot loft tons of dirt from the soil which would become fallout in a ground burst, so there would not be a mushroom cloud.

There are still atoms and molecules up there, but the higher up the weapon is detonated, the less matter there is for the leftover fission product to activate and the less fallout is produced. While too little is produced to be a concern at ground level, past high altitude nuclear tests did create bands of radiation in the atmosphere that damaged low earth orbiting satellites as they passed through them.

Up to one-third of low earth orbit satellites in orbit at the time were damaged in some way, and some were rendered useless, so even though fallout would not be a direct danger to folks on the ground, it could still end up affecting us to the degree we are dependent on satellites.

Nuclear Weapon Type & Yield

Creating a high EMP field strength does not require a very powerful nuclear weapon, certainly not a large warhead capable of destroying a city in a nuclear blast near ground level.

Fission weapons in the 2-10 kiloton range (small as nukes go) area far more efficient use of fissile material than thermonuclear (fission-fusion-fission) weapons, making them a very attractive option for nations with small nuclear programs or even a determined terrorist organization, should they succeed in procuring a suitable weapon. A relatively small weapon such as a nuclear artillery shell, could result in tremendous disruption and loss of life if detonated at sufficient altitude.

An ERW (Enhanced Radiation Weapon), similar in design to a neutron bomb, is a class of low yield tactical thermonuclear (fission-fusion) weapons. Neutron bombs minimize blast and heat to maximize dangerous ionizing radiation and gamma yield which is what causes the E1 component of EMP.

The idea behind the neutron bomb was that it could kill enemy soldiers while minimizing civilian casualties and damage to the infrastructure that sustains them. Although it may sound like a contradiction in terms, the neutron bomb was intended to be a more humane nuclear weapon. While the blast radius of a neutron bomb may be as small as a few hundred meters, the highly lethal ionizing radiation produced can penetrate several feet of soil or the armor of a tank disabling exposed troops within a few minutes and killing them within a couple of days.

ERW’s are more effective at producing HEMP than nuclear weapons designed to destroy cities and military bases. Like neutron bombs, trading blast and heat for higher gamma and neutron yield means that they punch far above their weight class when it comes to create HEMP. Creating an ERW is probably what North Korea’s last test was. Such a weapon, detonated at altitude, could potentially create field strengths far more intense than 50Kv/m.

This is important because that number is used as a standard for shielding against EMP and was derived by analysis of the Starfish Prime nuclear test data from 1962 which is not classified. That test used a regular thermonuclear warhead which was not designed for optimal EMP yield.

High altitude EMP only really began to be understood after that test produced 1000x the EMP of tests at ground level. Since then, military scientists have had many decades to develop ERW weapons and in 2004, Russian generals testified that their ERW designs were “accidentally leaked” to North Korea. Because of the development of ERWs, the shielding protecting many of our critical systems may be insufficient.

No matter what, you have to be prepared, able to help yourself and your family in case of a total blackout! Click the banner below for more!

This article has been written by Cache Valley Prepper for Survivopedia.

Resources:
http://www.abomb1.org/pdf/kfm_inst.pdf

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

Survival Rifle: What is The Best Rifle for a Backwoods Survival Scenario?

(M.D. Creekmore adds: This article is very basic and it’s intended for novices who are also outdoor enthusiasts – my personal choice for a .22 rifle to take camping, hiking and for outdoor recreation is the Ruger 10/22 takedown.)

by Douglas B

Survival rifle is becoming an essential tool in today’s unpredictable world. To be clear, this type of rifle is a tool that can be used in a variety of different circumstances. For example, many people enjoy spending time in the great outdoors. To the extent an individual finds themselves far away from civilization, it can usually...

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Wolf Pack Pantry Challenge (Week 10)

Week 10 “Plus 5” Ingredients

• Salted Pork Belly
• Plums
• Eggplant
• Spring Onions
• Dandelion and other greens

You’ve still got plenty of pork left over from last week. So the main protein is salted pork belly. You have traded another survival group for several bushels of fresh plums. From your garden, you have eggplant and spring onions. You have foraged for dandelion and other greens. What main dish would you make?

You have too many plums to use for dinner. But you don’t want them to go to waste. What would you make?

Scenario: We are in a grid down...

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Prepper News Brief for Wednesday, July 5, 2017

For this column, I visit multiple websites and swim through a river of information to bring you the day’s most fascinating news stories of the day. I cover various categories, ranging from politics, the economy, current events and occasionally I’ll even throw in a little celebrity gossip and sports news just to keep it interesting. Please help me spread the word about this column by forwarding it to your email contacts and sharing on social media. Thank you.

1. A Military Response and Regime Change is The Only Option Left With North Korea

NOTHING has worked to stop North Korea from...

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Store Bought to Home Grown – 6 Reasons to Grow Your Own Food

I was raised on a farm and always had freshly grown foods. Then when I moved to the city, I started buying foods from the grocery store, and noticed right away the inferior flavors.

After a year or so, I started noticing other problems with eating store-bought food, but it took me a few visits to the doctor to make the correlation.

Here are some of the top reasons to grow your own food.

Chemicals

In addition to vitamin C and polyphenols, samples of strawberries evaluated by the Environmental Working Group showed that non-organic varieties had over 20 different types of pesticides! Yup, how often have you just opened up the fridge, grabbed a strawberry, and popped it into your mouth? If so, you ate a little more that you thought – and not in a good way!

Even if you wash your produce, there’s often no way to get all of the chemicals off of your food unless you peel it. Since the skins of most fruits and veggies contain a large percentage of the nutrients, that’s a bad thing. Besides, why should you have to peel something before you eat it, unless it’s a banana?

Of course, you have two other options: you can eat the pesticides or you can buy organic. The first option is basically a non-option unless you want to expose yourself to agents that cause everything from skin rashes to liver failure and cancer. The latter option is crazy expensive.

There are no chemicals on anything that I grow at home.

Discover the golden days’ practice for getting all you can eat food without buying from the supermarket!

Nutrients

More people than ever since the industrialization of agriculture are nutritionally deprived even though they eat plenty of food. Never in the history of balanced diets has there been such dichotomy. The term “a starving, well-fed person” used to be an oxymoron, but not anymore.

Deficiencies in zinc, magnesium, and vitamin K are prevalent, and you have to eat three apples today to get the nutrients that were in just one at the turn of the last century. This is because commercial agriculture has farmed all of the nutrients right out of the soil.

My food is grown in nutrient-rich soil, so I know for a fact that it’s packed in nutrients. My food is flat-out better for you than store-bought food. Here are the top nine most nutritious foods for your survival garden, if you need a place to start.

Convenience

What could possibly be more convenient than picking your own food right off the plant or tree? Or grabbing a jar of your own spaghetti sauce right off the shelf?

No need to stop at the store, and to be honest, if you combine all of the hours that you spend at the store, along with the travel time, It takes much less time to grow and preserve your own food than it does to buy it.

Cost

There’s no way to calculate the cost of a single tomato, or even of a quart of sauce. I grew my entire 50 tomato plants for less than $8 total and yielded no less than 10 pounds per plant. Since one pound of vine-ripened (non-organic) tomatoes costs at least $2.50 per pound at the store, and you won’t buy a jar of good sauce for less than $2, there’s really no comparison.

So, what would you do with the thousands of dollars per year that you save on food? Go on vacation? Remodel your house? Put a big chunk of change down on a new car? Do whatever you want to do with it, because you no longer have to waste it on chemical-coated, nutrient-poor food!

Self-Sufficiency

This is possibly one of the best benefits of growing my own food. You see, I live in an area vulnerable to hurricanes, and I’ve been through three major ones and a handful of minor ones and tropical storms. Fortunately, we’ve always came through relatively unscathed, but the three big ones did leave me without electricity – one for almost three weeks, one for a week and a half, and one for a couple of days.

One of the many problems of being stuck in South Florida in late summer with no power is that it’s crazy hot. Food goes bad quickly so all you really have after a couple of days is what you have stockpiled. The first time, I was broke and didn’t have much money to stockpile or to buy a grill, so we were stuck eating cheap garbage that didn’t require cooking.

The second time, I was a little better off, but I still ended up eating expensive canned foods from the grocery store that were full of artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives. Luckily, the last time, I didn’t really run out of ‘real’ food because it was only a little less than two days.

Still, it was enough to make me think. The first two storms were within a year or of each other – Charley and Wilma. And in addition to Charley, we had a lot of near misses in both 2004 and 2005. Unfortunately, it still wasn’t much within my capabilities to grow much, but I started growing some. I swore I’d never get stuck like that again.

Now, I’m able to say that we can get through a month if we need to without sweating it. And we’d eat well, too! It took me over a decade to find my way back around, and I’m still not where I want to be, but I’m a long way from that 20-something girl that ate cold canned spaghetti-o’s because she was completely dependent on a grocery store, and too poor to stockpile store food!

Flavor

Taste is what it all comes down to, right? If it tastes like crap, you’re not going to want to eat it.

Well, let me tell you – if you start drinking fresh milk and eating fresh produce, then switch back to store-bought, you’ll most certainly notice a difference. Milk, in particular, was the major thing for me.

There’s a weird metallic, chemically flavor to store-bought milk that you don’t notice if you’re used to it. But when I made the switch from fresh, it was almost cringe-worthy.

Vegetables have a weird texture, too. Tomatoes are mushier and peppers and cucumbers aren’t as crisp. Corn isn’t as sweet. It’s just lacking. That’s not to say that you can’t get good-tasting produce at a store because you can. It’s just a crap-shoot, even in the same shopping trip.

The bottom line is that there are a ton of reasons to grow your own food and very few reasons not to. Even if you live in a small space, you can grow something.

Herbs take up no more space than a houseplant and make your house smell good. Tomatoes and even watermelons are available in small bushes meant for small spaces. And surely you’ve seen the upside-down strawberry kits at your local superstore; you can grow many foods upside down.

Homegrown food tastes better, is better for you, and is much less expensive. It’s fairly easy to grow, even if you have problems getting around; you can always grow raised beds or use vertical gardening.

I’ve written a book about how to grow delicious nutritious food. It includes how to grow it, various ways to prepare it and preserve it, and even how to butcher your own meat and tan your own hides.

It’s a diverse book that, if you were to gather all of the information yourself, would cost a fortune, but we kept the cost low because the goal isn’t to get rich – it’s to share information about the skills that have been handed down to me from the generations before me.

Check it out – between it and the five different bonus gifts, you’ll be glad you did. And so will I – I don’t want to see these skills lost!

If you have any comments about why growing your own food is better than buying store-bought, please share them with us in the comments section below!

This article has been written by Theresa Crouse for Survivopedia.

Tuesday, July 4, 2017

Have a Happy and Safe Independence Day

Declaration of Independence

As we celebrate this Independence day with food, fireworks, and family get together’s I can’t help the realization that we are all just going through the motions of celebrating freedom, liberty, and independence. When In reality, we got rid of one tyrannical overlord aka the British Empire only to end up being ruled and overtaxed by another domestic Overlord aka the U.S. federal government and their puppet masters who pull their strings from behind the curtain.

Have a safe and fun day everyone – as for myself instead of shooting off fireworks and drinking beer, I’ll...

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Remembering Our Independence

Two-hundred forty-one years ago, a group of 56 men gathered together in Philadelphia to declare themselves and their countrymen free from the tyranny of the British Empire.

These men, elected representatives from the 13 colonies, made a decision that changed the history of the world and created the first nation founded as a Christian nation.

The Declaration of Independence was a dangerous document, slapping King George in the face. Placing their names on it was signing their own death warrant. Yet those men did so willingly, pledging their lives, their liberty and their sacred honor to the cause.

This wasn’t a light pledge either. The men who signed the Declaration of Independence were, by and large, well off. While most weren’t what we’d call part of the one-percent today, they were business owners and men of means, important men in their communities. They had much to lose, if their bid for freedom failed.

The American Revolution

The American revolution isn’t unique in world history. Many other countries have been birthed out of similar rebellions, especially in Latin America.

But it is unique in that it was our rebellion and that it gave birth to the greatest nation on the face of the Earth. The United States of America, once nothing more than a smattering of colonies owned by European countries, has become the beacon of freedom for the whole world.

As a country, America has been unique. We are a country of immigrants, more than any other country in the world. We have declared it from the rooftops and we have accepted the refuse of other countries for over two centuries. The inscription on the Statue of Liberty says:

Throughout our history, we have taken the worlds castaways, and we still do so today. While debate rages about illegal immigration and Syrian refugees, the US takes in a million immigrants per year, each and every year. We take those with a dream in their eye and give them something they were missing where they came from opportunity.

For it is this, the chance of opportunity, which has brought immigrants to our shores ever since the first settlers came from Europe. Whether it is the opportunity of religious freedom, the opportunity for financial gain or simply the opportunity for a fresh start and adventure, America has always offered opportunity to those who came.

This has drawn a certain type of person to our country. Whether they came here from European aristocracy, an African village or to leave the crowding of the Far East, the people who have migrated to the United States, whether legally or illegally, all have the same characteristic. They are people who are willing to take a chance, break out of the norm, think outside the box, defy the societies that they left and look for something better. They all placed their lives on the table, saying “Give me liberty, or give me death.”

Perhaps they didn’t realize that their very lives were the chip they were placing on the gambling table, yet they were. Some, like the Cuban refugees who have crossed the waters on small, leaky, overcrowded boats have been more aware of their potential to lose their lives, yet they have willingly taken the risk, with the dream of freedom and a better life to lead them on. Others didn’t know the risks, yet the same dream led them too, even leading some to their deaths.

But these people, all of them, were fighters. Not in the sense of brawling, but fighting for survival. They will do whatever they have to, in order to make their way in the world.

Unlike the snowflakes with their entitlement mentality, they will take whatever work they can, working as many hours as they have to, without spending their day on their cell phones, as they need to, in order to make it. Many will even become business owners, making the sacrifice and taking the risk necessary to start their own business.

The types of people who migrate to the United States are thinkers, even if they aren’t educated. They look for solutions, finding a way, and making things work. As such, they are inventors, creating something out of what seems like almost nothing and turning that something into a success.

It is this work ethic and inventiveness that has built this country into the world’s financial powerhouse. Others complain about American riches, but they haven’t made the sacrifices and put in the effort to accomplish what we have. In some cases, their countries are filled with the richness of natural resources, yet they haven’t taken advantage of them.

Ask yourself this; why is it that Europe, Australia, the United States and Japan are the richest countries in the world? Is it because we have more natural resources? No. Is it because of some racial superiority? Again, no.

The only thing that has made these parts of the world as rich as they are, is the hard work of their citizens. The only exception to this is the Middle East, where riches have grown out of their natural resources (petroleum). But they are the exception, not the rule.

America was built by the sweat of our ancestors’ brows. Many of them, coming here as immigrants, worked the most menial, back-breaking jobs, in order to survive. But their children had it better than they did, and their grandchildren even better.

By that third generation they were no longer immigrants, but fully assimilated into American culture and society. They were Americans.

This is Who We Are

A nation of hard-working innovators, who have built the world’s greatest economy and are protected by the world’s greatest military. We have reason for pride in our country, as we are the model the rest of the world looks to. The experiment in democracy started by the Founding Fathers in 1776 has been a success, at least to this point.

Yet there are those who would destroy the success, loathing the very fact of who we are. They have turned their back on America and are trying to build a new America, one that is not founded upon the principles of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, but upon their own whims, their own desires, and a desire to take from the rich (everyone else) in order to give to the poor (themselves).

These people deem themselves better than anyone else. Not, I must add, because of anything that they’ve accomplished, but simply because of who they are. They have decided that they are better than anyone else, the elite; simply because their ideas are better… they know that, because they constantly remind each other of it.

We have just seen eight years of what the “elite” can do to our country, as Barack Obama tried to recreate the USA into his own image. Through it, he has degraded our country’s credit rating, destroyed businesses with overregulation, weakened our military and made the United States to seem weak before the world’s eyes.

His policies have undermined marriage, our national work ethic and our economy. Had he been able to continue on the road he laid out, he would have destroyed this country.

The Return to Our Greatness

It is time to return to the greatness that our ancestors envisioned for our country. We need to return to our constitutional roots. That means more than just draining the swamp, it means getting rid of much of it. The Founding Fathers clearly intended a limited federal government, as described in the Constitution.

Yet the federal government we have today has become a behemoth of red tape, regulations and overreaching bureaucrats, trying to control people’s lives. Yes, there is a need for some regulation. Yes, people and companies will do bad things if they are not watched. But there comes a time where the watchers in government do more harm than good, and we’ve clearly passed that point.

Last November’s elections were a crossroads. Would we, as a nation, continue down the road to destruction that Obama paved or would we return to our roots and become a great nation again. It seems that the people have spoken, and they have spoken for greatness, not destruction.

Even so, there are countless millions of the elite and their low-information voters who follow them like lemmings. They stand against our country’s greatness; seeking to go the path of socialism and destroying what previous generations have built. They have not slithered away into the shadows, but continue to riot and complain, in a prolonged scream against losing the election.

We, the people of the United States of America, must stand strong if our country is to survive.

There are many powers in the world, some in darkness and others in the light, who are clamoring for our destruction. They want to undo what the Founding Fathers did over two centuries ago. They have their own vision, and it’s not of a strong America. Rather, it’s of America gone and replaced by a one–world socialist government, with them at the helm.

This fight will not end soon. Donald Trump will not be able to eliminate it on his own. For the powers arrayed against our freedom are vast. They can be patient when they need to and they can move when the time is right for their purposes. They will strike, when they feel they can win.

For this reason, the “silent majority” can afford to be silent no longer. We can’t go back into our homes and live a quiet life. We must be ready to defend the republic and defend freedom. History requires it. The Founding Fathers require it. But most importantly, our children and grandchildren require it.

This article has been written by Bill White for Survivopedia.

Monday, July 3, 2017

New At The Blog

If you look up at the navigation menu just below the header, you’ll see two new additions to the blog – one an Open Prayer Request Page and a Breaking News Alerts Page. These two new pages are the main reason that I implemented the new commenting system – the new commenting system allows readers to sort all comments by newest to oldest and vice-versa and well as by the most liked via the Thumbs Up / Thumbs Down Feature. This will work much better for readers overall and especially for readers and posters to the two new pages linked to above.

Kelly Kettle biomass stoves: Weekly Product Review

Kelly Kettle biomass stove As a conscientious camper and bush crafter, I enjoy using things that allow me to benefit the greatest while impacting my surroundings the least. One of these items is the Kelly Kettle designed by an Irishman who wanted to have hot tea when he was fishing, this amazing biomass stove was decades ahead of its time and relatively recently made its debut in the United States. The Kelly Kettle helped spawn a wave of innovative new approaches with biomass stoves.

“Carefully study the well-being of your men, and do not overtax them. Ensure that you have proper supplies to make fires and food...

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Prepper News Brief for Monday, July 3, 2017

1. 11-Year-Old Boy With Shotgun Vs Bear in Alaska

That first shot hit him in the shoulder and did absolutely nothing. The next shot hit him in the nose and traveled down through the neck. A third shot forced the bear to the ground, and a fourth killed it. As reported by RT News: Shotgun-toting 11-year-old boy blasts attacking bear to save his family in Alaska.

2. Mass Shooting at The Power Ultra Lounge in Downtown Little Rock, Arkansas

According to the latest reports, the shooting was most likely gang related – No one was killed but 25 people were injured so I guess that It’s a...

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Things To Do When A Gun Is Pointed At You

In today’s world, armed robberies and other situations involving guns have become the new normal. Armed criminals have taken over neighborhoods and rule by terror.

While legislative action aimed at gun control will not stop this, and will more than likely make it worse, there are things you can do when someone points a gun at you.

As dangerous as this situation is, you can turn it in your favor. Read the following article to find out how!

What the Criminal Wants Is…

If an individual is bent on killing you they will probably point the gun at you, then he will pull the trigger immediately, or feed off the fear that you’re generating, and then kill you.

If the criminal decides to pull the trigger immediately, the odds are you will be shot before you have a chance to react. Depending on the shot, you may be injured, but not dead yet. You’ll be dazed, stunned, or otherwise unable to respond with any defensive moves you may have practiced. While it may not seem like much, you must still remain calm and see what you can do for your survival.

Sometimes the shooter wants to feed off your fear or other debilitating emotions first. You should try to negotiate your way out of harm’s way before physically engaging the individual. If you are more than a foot away, try running away in a zig-zagging pattern while looking for cover, and hope they don’t have any formal training in how to shoot. This is a much better option than engaging.

When all is said and done, surviving when someone points a gun at you comes down to a decision to stay and fight or to try and escape. In many cases, trying to escape is your best option. If you are unable to do so, and have nothing left to lose, then you might as well give it all you have and fight as best as you can.

Click here to get your Green Beret’s Guide to combat shooting mastery & active shooter defense!

Two Common Mistakes to Avoid and What to Do Instead

Oddly enough, most people are overconfident about their ability to defend themselves. For example, many people think just because they can do household chores and watch a few action movies, they are strong enough and know enough to fake their way through a situation.

These people don’t take into account the very visceral and often debilitating effects that come with realizing that their life is in danger. Without proper training and practicing basic skills, it is very hard to get out of a situation in which someone else intends to hurt you.

Remember, it is overconfidence, sometimes borne of wishful thinking, that usually leads to a vast majority of deaths.

The second most common mistake is made by untrained individuals trying to take on and fight an armed attacker. Sometime you have no choice but to fight for your life, however, as with anything else, you must pick your battles carefully.

Remain Calm

The most important thing to do when an individual holds a gun on you is to stay calm. Clarity of thought is very important.

If you are not calm your brain seizes up and you will be unable to think clearly.
If you panic you may also cause the person with a gun pointed at you to panic as well. If that person thinks they are losing control of the situation, they will fire.
Remember that a criminal thinks they have leverage or control over because they have a gun and you do not.
Tell the criminal what you are going to do before you do it. In the case of surrendering a wallet or something else, speak in a slow calm voice, then reach into your pocket, slowly take it out, and give it to them.

Establish and Maintain Eye Contact

You must establish eye contact with the individual pointing the gun at you because:

Doing this could cause the assailant to hesitate and think twice about killing you.
You don’t want this person to feel out of control, but you want them to feel uncomfortable.
You want the robber to start considering the necessity of what they are doing and to begin looking for a way out the situation.
If the criminal was determined to murder you, you would already be dead. Remember that, because every second that passes is one passing in your favor when it comes to surviving the encounter.

Study the Criminal

While the assailant is holding you at bay, study them. Instead of trying to memorize exact height, weight, or every article of clothing, try to find something unique about them personally. Unless the person is exceptionally tall, short, heavy, skinny, it is not going to do the police much good later when you are question. As far as clothing goes the assailant is going to change their clothing and their looks as soon as they are clear of the crime scene.

When you are memorizing the criminal, you must be able to distinguish them from other individuals on a lineup that are similar to the criminal’s general features. Pay attention to hairstyle, scars or birthmarks, tattoo, piercings, language style, or anything else that is unique to this individual.

Regardless of specific aspects of the situation, you must always follow these three steps as early as possible in the encounter. Now let’s have a look at some specific scenarios and some suggestions for getting out of them alive.

What to do if You Are Carrying a Gun Concealed

One of the most important things to remember if you are carrying a concealed weapon is the criminal still thinks they have an advantage. It is best to pretend to be a passive victim until you see a viable window for taking action. Remember, you actually have the element of surprise unless the criminal suspects you are carrying or actually found out via stalking you prior to the encounter.

A concealed weapon carrier must always keep their ego in check! If you don’t there is a strong chance that you could get shot or accidentally shoot an innocent by stander. Never try to draw your weapon in plain view of a criminal unless you have good cover that will stop and incoming bullet. Once you have drawn your weapon, shoot to save your life and the lives of others in the area not involved in committing a crime.

The following YouTube videos will show you wrong and right ways to draw your weapon when a criminal has the advantage over you.

To paraphrase the late, great Col. Jeff Cooper, “Owning a gun doesn’t make you a gunfighter anymore than owning a guitar makes you a musician“. You must know how to use it and, equally important, WHEN to use it.

Video first seen on Active Self Protection.

When trying to shoot and hit a fast moving vehicle departing a crime scene.

Video first seen on Active Self Protection.

When You Don’t Have a Gun and Can’t Fight Well

There may come a time when you are absolutely sure that an armed individual will pull the trigger and attempt to kill you. Regardless of the shooter’s intentions, you must do everything within your power to to defend yourself.

This may include running for cover, throwing objects at them, poke them in the eye if they’re close enough, or use any form of self-defense that you know of to protect yourself.

These actions are an absolute last resort. You must be ready for the possibility that you may be shot and killed. In this situation, it is better to do something than to do nothing at all.

What About Taking the Gun Away?

Your number one goal in this situation is to save your life. Fighting back greatly increases the odds of losing your life because it increases the risk of getting shot. Quite frankly, it takes a lot of skill and training to pull a gun out of someone’s hand and do it successfully.

If you have never been trained by the police or have not undergone extensive martial arts training, there is a chance you will fail in your efforts. To add insult to injury, even if you do manage to get the gun away from the criminal, that person will try to get it back. This, in turn, means you need to be prepared for an additional struggle.

The safest thing to do when faced with a handgun is to do whatever the individual says. The only exception to this is to get in a vehicle with this armed individual. Remember you are gambling with your life. This is not the movies or TV. The odds are the criminal has more experience in controlling terrified victims and will not think twice about shooting you.

That being said, there are a few tactics you can try. As with any other maneuver, the more training and practice you have, the better chance you will succeed in your efforts. Once you have good muscle memory for these maneuvers, you don’t have to think about what steps to do in which order. The tactics just flow from beginning to the end without you thinking about it.

All of these maneuvers are dangerous if the criminal is stronger than you. They also increase the risk that the criminal will fire the gun and strike you or someone else in the area.

Criminal Facing You

Move your head out of the line of fire. Grab the gun directly from the criminal’s hand. Twist the gun to the right breaking the criminal’s finger as you do it. Remember the criminals finger will be on the trigger.

Take the gun from the criminal’s wounded hand. Use the right hand to stop the wrist as you use the left hand to bend the wrist, grab the gun, and push the gun down. This is very important. If you don’t grab the wrist before twisting the gun down, there is a chance the criminal will maintain control of the gun.

Video first seen on MMA Surge.

Gun Pointed at Your Back

This video will show you the basics of what to do when a criminal points a pistol at your back. These techniques demonstrate a quick and safe way to disarm a criminal and give you the upper hand.

Video first seen on Gun Carrier.

Gun Pointed to Your Head

Watch this video for a quick and safe disarming of a criminal. The film will demonstrate how to disarm the criminal using a single or double handed pistol holding grip.

Video first seen on Gun Carrier.

In conclusion, being held at gun point can be a terrifying and possibly deadly encounter. There are many times when the criminal does not want to shoot, but feels they must point the gun in order to exert control in the situation.

Remaining calm and maintaining eye contact can rob the criminal of some of the psychological reward associated with the situation, and also help you buy some time in which to act. Protect your self by learning some basic self defense moves, as well as when and how to deploy them so that you have a better chance of surviving and coming out of the situation unharmed.

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This article has been written by Fred Tyrell for Survivopedia.