The Cor Outfitters Intelligence Community: 2016-05-08

Saturday, May 14, 2016

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Prepper Fitness 101

Written by Guest Contributor on The Prepper Journal.

Are you in a condition where you feel confident to take care of loved ones and yourself physically if disaster strikes?

The post Prepper Fitness 101 appeared first on The Prepper Journal.

from The Prepper Journal
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Prep Blog Review: Survival Kitchen Tips

PBR14May2016

No matter the progress we think we are making in our prepping, let’s not forget about priorities. We’ve covered water in our previous reviews – see this entry from last month and this one from last year.

So today I want to start a conversation about…food!

From making tasty and healthy recipes, to simply trying new things in the kitchen. I’m interested in as much good info as I can get. Something in the range of Alec Deacon’s How To Make Pemmican.

I want easy steps that I can follow, with what I have around the house or with what I can easily find at any store. Here’s what this last week offered:

1. Copycat Recipe: Olive Garden Bread Sticks

“Bread sticks…..especially Olive Garden’s garlicky, buttered bread sticks are a favorite in our house. One of my 6 yr old twins regularly asks to go to Olive Garden just so he can have the bread sticks (and a bowl of olives…ha). And bread sticks pair so well with so many dishes: Italian foods, chili, soup. I’ve been buying some at the grocery store that we’ve been eating lately, but they just didn’t cut it. I wanted something better….healthier, less processed, and more Olive Garden – like.”

What Did YOU Do To Prep This Week?

I hope that everyone has had a great week and prepped a bunch. I have a strong “feeling” that time is running out and we will soon be forced to live off of what we have stored and can grow and forage. Look around, take inventory and realistically evaluate your preps and your knowledge… how long could you continue to provide for your family if the grid went down and you could not just drive to the store to get more of whatever that you need.

If you’ll take a look in the sidebars you’ll find sources for just about anything that you will need for long-term survival....

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Friday, May 13, 2016

The Best Accessories for Your Guns

Written by Guest Contributor on The Prepper Journal.

Whether you’re interested in home protection or looking to stay safe while hunting, you’re going to want the best gun accessories to defend yourself.

The post The Best Accessories for Your Guns appeared first on The Prepper Journal.

How to be a strategic thinker and survive TEOTWAWKI (or everyday life)

Today we present another article in our non-fiction writing contest – Jeff B

I consider myself to be relatively normal, middle of the road type person. I was sailing along in my life, not completely oblivious, but leaning more towards mild apathy, when it came to TEOTWAWKI scenarios. I occasionally watched TV shows like Doomsday Preppers and while I admired their preparedness, I had the mindset of most Americans, “I have more important priorities”.

After the emotional and financial turmoil of a divorce, I was left to essentially re-invent my life. Initially, I was stuck in the...

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May 13, 2016 Miscellany News Brief

1.) Russian’s Son of Satan – Sarmat RS-28 AKA Satan-2 Missile – The Most Destructive Missile Ever Made: And on top of that, it will have a number of countermeasures built in to help it dodge enemy radar systems as well as the ability to avoid detection the use a combination of decoys, a number of countermeasures and its sheer speed.

2.) Meanwhile… Russia Calls New U.S. Missile Defense System a ‘Direct Threat’.

3.) US defense shield goes live in Europe, Russia condemns the move: Russia has reacted strongly to the deployment of a US missile system in Romania, calling it a...

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Homemade Penicillin To Survive When SHTF

SVP penicillin

Can you imagine dying from a cut on your finger or a scrape on your knee? How about a respiratory infection or a toothache?

Before the invention of penicillin, the first antibiotic, that could have been your cause of death. If SHTF, access to antibiotics may become limited or impossible. If that happens, it’s important to know how to make antibiotics at home.

To understand the importance of antibiotics, think of it in larger terms. They would have cured the bubonic plague, which was a bacterial infection that took 100 million lives in the 14^th century. It was originally caused by infected rats and the fleas that had bitten them, and then bitten a person. Since it was highly contagious, after a person was infected by the rat or flea, the infection then spread from them to other people.

Antibiotics also cure tuberculosis, a highly contagious bacterial disease that still exists today. As a matter of fact, in 2014 alone, more than 9 million people were reported to have it.

All bacterial infections are contagious to some degree, though for some, such as ones that cause an infected tooth or cut, the risk of infection is low because it’s mostly blood born. With other infections, such as tuberculosis, all you have to do is breathe the same air to become infected.

Though we think of the plague as something long behind us, we’re only protected from it because of access to antibiotics. If society collapses, pandemics like it could wreak the same havoc on humanity as they did then.

For thousands of years, Chinese medicine has used fungi to treat skin infections. World-wide, a common treatment for any skin lesion was a poultice made of dirt, which likely contained fungi. For thousands of years, people may not have known WHY something worked; they just knew that it did. Fortunately, we don’t have to depend on such blind faith anymore, so let’s get on with it.

Making penicillin at home is difficult, but possible if you have the right equipment and ingredients. First things first, though: don’t do it unless it’s truly a survival situation.

First, commercial antibiotics have been made by the pros, and they’re a known quantity. Second, making drugs at home, whether they’re legal or illegal, is frowned upon, and distributing them is illegal in most places.

mold

How to Make Penicillin

This is a no-brainer, right? It’s made from bread mold, so you just leave a loaf out, cook up the mold or something, then take it, yes? Umm, no. Penicillin is made from the penicillium fungus found on foods such as some breads and fruits (a moldy cantaloupe played a huge role in initial experiments), but here’s the thing – the bacteria has to be stressed.

So, you have to grow the fungus, then introduce it to stressors before you can use it to make penicillin.

Very important heads up – your culture has to be grown and cultivated in a sterile environment or else other bugs and nasties will contaminate it and cause a Frankin-culture instead of the pure penicillium culture that you need to make antibiotics.

There’s a simple but less reliable way of making penicillin, and then there are steps that you can take to ensure that your end result is penicillin. Warning: though: it’s complicated and requires chemicals that can be quite expensive and have limited shelf lives.

Equipment needed:

A gram scale
Separatory funnel
A 1-liter glass container
750 ml Erlenmeyer flask with a non-absorbent plug
A pH test kit
2 pieces of whole wheat bread
A cantaloupe rind, more bread, or citrus fruit

Step 1 – Set out the rind, bread or fruit and let it mold (we’ll call this the host). It will go through a few phases. First the mold will be white or gray, then it will turn blue, then a bright blue-green. This is the color you want. Note: if you choose to use bread, it’s best to make it yourself because many bakeries use an ingredient that inhibits mold growth.

Step 2 – Sterilize the flask by putting it in the pressure cooker at 15 lb. for at least 15 minutes, or bake it at 315 degrees F for an hour.

Step 3 – Cut the whole wheat bread (see note in step 1) into 1/2-inch cubes and place them in the flask, careful to be as sterile as you can.

Step 4 – scrape the blue-green mold from the host and place it in with the bread. Again, be as sterile with this step as you can, for instance, boil the tongs that you’re using.

Step 5 – Place the flask in a dark place that’s around 70 degrees and allow it to incubate for 5 days.

At this point, some people may say that you’re done and you can just slap the “penicillin” on the wound or make tea or soup from the bread. We don’t recommend it.

Step 6 – Now it’s going to get complicated. You’re going to need the following ingredients:

Lactose Monohydrate 44 gm
Corn Starch 25 gm
Sodium Nitrate 3 gm
Magnesium Sulfate 0.25 gm
Potassium Monophosphate 0.50 gm
Glucose Monohydrate 2.75 gm
Zinc Sulfate 0.044 gm
Manganese Sulfate 0.044 gm

Now, according to the instructions that I found (neither of which were actual medical sites because, as usual, there aren’t any actual medical sites that describe how to make anything like this at home), it says to dissolve these in tap water.

After researching, it seems that distilled water would be the best to use for the next step because we want to keep things as sterile as possible and tap water has unknown variables. That’s just my opinion and I’m definitely not a formally trained scientist, so use what you prefer.

Step 7 – So, back to it. Sterilize the 1+ liter container, then dissolve the above ingredients in 500 ml of cold water. Add more cold water to make it a full liter.

Step 8 – Use hydrochloric acid (HCL) to adjust the pH to 5.0-5.5 using your pH test kit.

Step 9 – Sterilize the container along with the solution as described above.

Step 10 – Allow the solution to cool, then add the mold. Incubate it for another 7 days under the same conditions as before. It’s important that the fluid isn’t jostled around so put it where it won’t be moved.

If you’ve done it correctly, you’re almost done. Now it’s time to extract the penicillin that’s infused in the fluid.

Step 11 – Filter the mix through a coffee filter or sterilized cheesecloth.

Step 12 – Adjust the pH of the solution to 2.2 using the HCL and the pH test kit.

Step 13 – Mix with cold ethyl acetate in the separatory funnel and shake vigorously for 30 seconds or so then allow it to separate. The ethyl acetate will be at the bottom.

Step 14 – Chill a beaker in an ice bath and drain the ethyl acetate into it. Add 1 percent potassium acetate and mix it again.

Step 15 – Let the ethyl acetate evaporate off while the solution is still in the beaker. You want plenty of air circulating through.

Step 16 – You have penicillin, assuming you did everything right. Actually the crystals that remain are potassium penicillin and potassium acetate.

This is a pretty scientific process and not something that you should undertake lightly, just to save yourself a few bucks on a prescription.

Because there are so many variables, making your own penicillin is tricky at best. Yes, you may have penicillin but you may have some bad bugs in there, too. But if SHTF, you’re dying from septicemia and you have no other viable options, then it’s not like this is going to make anything worse.

garlic

There are also many other sources of natural antibiotics that you can eat or even use topically, including honey, garlic, oil of oregano, and ginger. Honey is also a great preventive because in addition to killing something that may have gotten into the wound, it also acts as a barrier to keep other bugs out.

If you opt to use this recipe, it may be best to test it on a patch of your skin first to see if you have a reaction then go from there. I would definitely recommend researching the entire process more and to use this article as one piece of the “making your own antibiotics” puzzle.

If you have experience with this, or are a trained medical professional, we would love to hear from you on this topic.

NewSMDCover

This article has been written by Theresa Crouse for Survivopedia.

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Thursday, May 12, 2016

Preparedness: Are You Living in Reality or Fantasy-Land?

Written by Guest Contributor on The Prepper Journal.

As individuals that are concerned about our lives, we need to be sure we are looking at reality, not a fabricated fantasy-land as our world.

The post Preparedness: Are You Living in Reality or Fantasy-Land? appeared first on The Prepper Journal.

Survival Gardening: How To Naturally Improve Your Soil

svp soil

Soil is essential for growing a traditional garden. It nourishes your plants, and helps produce an abundant harvest. Your soil needs care.

You can’t just drop seeds in the ground and expect a ton of produce. Gardening depletes the soil of essential nutrients. As a gardener, it’s essential to put those nutrients back.

In today’s society, many people turn to chemical fertilizers. These have been specially formulated to give your soil an exact dose of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. But, chemical fertilizers also contain undesirable ingredients. They also don’t take into account the other vital nutrients your soil needs.

A better solution is to save your soil naturally. You’ll be giving your soil exactly what it needs without any needless chemicals. You’ll also be prepared for a crisis situation. If you aren’t able to buy chemical fertilizer or fancy test kits, your garden will still grow.

What Nutrients Does Soil Need?

There are almost twenty basic nutrients that your soil needs. Three of them are vital:

Nitrogen
Phosphorus
Potassium

The other nutrients are also important. But, not every plant needs exactly the same amount of each of these. That means some plants will still grow well even with a deficit. Those nutrients are:

Magnesium
Sulfur
Calcium
Iron
Zinc
Boron
Chlorine
Manganese
Nickel
Copper
Molybdenum
Hydrogen
Carbon
Oxygen

Over time, your soil will lose some of these nutrients. Ideally, you’ll take little steps each year to keep your soil healthy. You can create your own fertilizer and add a mulch layer in the fall. These maintenance steps will help keep your garden growing.

However, it isn’t always enough. There will be times when a more intensive treatment is necessary.

How Do You Know When to Improve You Soil?

If your garden has been producing well and then your harvest slows down, it could be time to recharge your soil. There are other signs to watch for as well. Let’s look at four common gardening problems that indicate a soil problem.

Discoloring Leaves

If your plant’s leaves are changing colors, your soil is trying to tell you something. Take time to examine your plants throughout the growing season to check on the status of your leaves.

Look for yellow colored leaves towards the bottom of plants (a nitrogen deficiency), bronze colored or reddish leaves (low potassium or phosphorus is the likely culprit), new leaves that come in yellow leaves with dark spots (a lack of magnesium), older leaves that are wilting and turning brown only around the edges (a potassium deficiency), or new leaves that have yellow between the veins means (a lack of zinc).

leaves

Discolored Plants

It’s not only the leaves that can change color. Whole plants can as well. Here’s a couple of common ailments that cause plants to be discolored:

Purplish plants – a phosphorus deficiency.
Pale yellow plants – a lack of sulfur

Diseased Plants

If you suddenly start having an increase in diseased plants, it’s time to check the status of your soil. A good dose of compost will help replace many of the nutrients your soil needs. Healthy soil is more likely to produce healthy plants.

Diseased plants also indicate it is time to rotate your crops. Each crop takes a different amount of nutrients out of the ground. A simple rotation schedule will help revitalize your soil.

Excessive Moss Growth

Is moss starting to creep into your garden? Moss thrives in acidic soil. It’s an indicator that your soil is becoming too acidic.

How Do You Naturally Add Nutrients to Your Soil?

If you can get your hands on some rabbit droppings, you’ll go a long way to restoring the nutrients in your garden. Other manure helps too—just make sure to manage it correctly before adding it so you don’t burn your plants.

A compost pile is vital. If you don’t already have a pile going, start one today. That way you’ll be all set when you really need it.

compost All the organic matter you add to your soil helps feed the tiny microorganisms living in your soil. Those creatures digest the material you added. This process helps improve your soil structure and increase your yields.

You want some bugs in your garden; just not the pesky kind. Here are a few useful bugs you should have in your garden, and the plants that you should grow to attract them:

Ladybugs – Plant dill, fennel, yarrow, angelica and coreopsis to attract lady bugs and their mighty larvae.
Lacewinds – Plant cosmos, angelica, sweet alyssum and coreopsis to attract lacewings to your garden.
Pirate bugs – They are attracted by goldenrods, daisies, yarrow, alfalfa, buckwheat, corn, willows and flower pollen and nectar.
Soldier Beetles – Attract soldier bugs with marigolds, catnip, hydrangea and goldenrod.
Spined Soldier Bugs – Attract spined soldier bugs with perennial plants because that’s where they take shelter.
Ground Beetles – Plant perennials to attract them and provide ground cover such as logs or rocks for them to hide under.
Tachinid Flies – Plant flowers with lots of pollen and nectar to attract them. They also like herbs such as dill, parsley and sweet clover. Let a few of your herb plants flower for them because that’s the part that they like best.
Dragonflies – To attract dragonflies, build a little pond or leave a marshy area alone.
Spiders – Plant flowers with lots of pollen and nectar to attract them. They also like herbs such as dill, parsley and sweet clover. Let a few of your herb plants flower for them because that’s the part that they like best.

How Do You Naturally Adjust the pH of Your Soil?

In addition to nutrients, the pH of soil is important. Some plants prefer acidic soil. Others prefer alkaline soil. Many plants do well in neutral ground. pH test kits for soil are common in today’s society.

You can purchase DIY kits at the garden center, or pay for an analysis at an extension agency. If you’re able to test your soil today with a kit, you’ll get an exact pH reading.

But, we won’t always have these options. There are ways to naturally test the pH of your soil. While you won’t get an exact reading, these results will help pinpoint the status of your soil.

The Baking Soda and Vinegar Test

Baking soda and vinegar cause a chemical reaction when they’re combined. In fact, the fizzing, bubbling reaction is often used in children’s science experiments about volcanoes. These same ingredients can be used for a useful soil experiment as well.

The premise of this test is simple. You’ll get some soil and see how it reacts to vinegar. Then, you’ll see how it reacts to baking soda.

To prepare for this test, gather about a quarter cup of your garden soil. Divide this into two containers. In one container, add 1/2 cup of vinegar. Watch for any bubbles to form and listen for a fizz. If you don’t get a reaction, get your second container of dirt. You’ll need to mix this one with some distilled water to make a slurry. Then, sprinkle about ½ cup of baking soda over the top.

Here are what the results of this test indicates:

Baking Soda Reaction: Acidic soil
Vinegar Reaction: Alkaline soil
No Reaction: Fairly neutral soil

Homemade Litmus Paper for pH Testing

You can also test the acidity of your soil by creating your own litmus paper out of cabbage leaves. My kids and I tried this as a science project one spring. It worked well! Here’s how you do it:

Take a quarter of a red cabbage and roughly chop it into slices.
Add your cabbage to a saucepan with a half-cup of water.
Bring the water to a boil, and keep it boiling for 15 minutes. Then, strain out the cabbage and save your water.
Cut a couple of coffee filters into strips, then soak them in your saved cabbage water. They’ll absorb the color. Let these strips dry completely.

To use your strips to test your soil, you’ll need to create a slurry out of your soil again. Just add distilled water until it’s nearly liquid. It’s best to test the soil from a few different parts of your garden, which means you’ll use more than one strip.

When you’re ready to test, dip a test strip in your soil slurry and hold it for half a minute. Pull it out, and watch the color change. It’ll turn a shade of red or pink in acidic soil. Conversely, it’ll be blue or green in alkaline soil.

More Shelf Stable pH Test

You can keep your cabbage based litmus paper for a couple of weeks before it loses the ability to accurately test pH. But, you may not always have access to a fresh cabbage. There’s an alternative solution to create your homemade pH indicator.

You can use a combination of turmeric and water. Turmeric is shelf-stable, so be sure to keep some in your stockpile of food. Whenever you’re ready to use it to test the pH, add a bit of distilled water to make a liquid. Then add distilled water to a few tablespoons of soil create a liquefied soil. Add a couple drops of your turmeric test solution to your soil mixture.

Watch closely for the color change. Soil with a pH below 7.4 will be yellow. Soil with a pH above 8.6 will be a dark orange-red color. It’s not quite as accurate as the cabbage test, but it will give you a good idea about the condition of your soil.

plants ph How to Amend Soil pH Naturally

Now that you’ve tested your soil, you can take natural steps to improve it. If your soil is acidic, you’ll want to add wood ash or a generous amount of crushed eggshell. These elements will help move your soil closer to neutral.

If your soil is alkaline, you’ll want to add different natural matter. Pine needles work well to help adjust this type of soil. Spread a layer on in the fall so they have time to decompose over the winter.

Start Saving Your Soil Today!

Are you gardening? If you’re not, you should be. Even if you just grow one or two items, the practice will help you learn how to save your soil.

Building healthy soil isn’t a quick project. It requires time and effort. But, it’s possible.

What other tips and tricks do you have for naturally testing and improving your soil? I’d love to hear them, so please share in the comments below.

This article has been written by Lisa Tanner for Survivopedia.

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Wednesday, May 11, 2016

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Trump Chosen by God To Stop America's Destruction - Astounding 2011 Prophecy

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The Writing is on The Wall - President Trump Derails The NWO

Planning for the Prepper Wannabes

Written by Guest Contributor on The Prepper Journal.

The person or people in front of you are not a danger they are just PWBs’ - Prepper wannabes. They are scared and it's obvious they aren't prepared for the SHFT event you are going through.

The post Planning for the Prepper Wannabes appeared first on The Prepper Journal.

A History Of Poverty

SVP poverty

For over 50 years now, the Democrats have been waging their “War on Poverty.” Put in layman’s terms, that means taking money from the working and giving it to the poor.

In other words, wealth redistribution; one of the liberal’s favorite games.

Of course, when they talk wealth redistribution, they make it sound like they’re only going after the wealthiest of the wealthy; but what really happens is that the middle class ends up suffering. While they raise taxes on the wealthy, they raise them on the middle class as well. Then you end up with poor people who can afford iPhones, while middle class people can’t. Is it just me, or is that messed up?

So, what has 50 years of giving handouts to the poor gotten us? According to census data, we’ve reduced the poverty rate by a whopping three percent! Yep, $22 trillion has gained us a grand total of three percent reduction in the poverty rate.

I’m not sure that anyone could call that a great return on investment. Oh, and that’s the same poverty rate that existed in 1967, three years after President Lyndon Johnson declared the war on poverty.

US Poverty Versus World Poverty

poverty stats

Source: fas.org

These statistics only deal with poverty here in the United States, not world poverty. In the eyes of much of the world, especially what is known as the “third world,” the poor in America have it pretty darn good. They are only poor as compared to other Americans.

In that we find the key to understanding American poverty. In reality, it’s about jealousy. It’s about “they have and I don’t. And while there are definitely poor in our country, even people who are extremely poor, there are few who are starving to death. Of those who are, there is usually some underlying problem that is causing their poverty.

But I’d like to take a different look at poverty today; seeing it in the historic perspective. You see, when we look at it that way, we encounter that poverty is the norm, not the exception. Throughout world history, the vast majority of the people have been poor. There have been a small upper class and a large lower class, with a small middle-class in between.

I don’t care what ancient culture you look at, the vast majority of the people were poor. The “noblemen” gathered all wealth to themselves, treating the surfs and peasants like surfs and peasants. In other words, mistreating them. I don’t care if you look at ancient Egypt, the Ming Dynasty or feudal Europe, you find the same thing in each culture. The vast majority of people were poor.

The idea that poverty can be eliminated is actually a rather new idea in world history; and I’ve got to say that it’s an idea that has been created by capitalism. Ironic isn’t that? The great enemy of the progressive-liberal mindset, capitalism, is what has given birth to one of their founding principles.

You see, the true indicator of a society’s financial well-being isn’t the poor or the rich, it’s the middle class. Before the time of the Renaissance, this group of people was all but non-existent. Oh, there were a few artisans and merchants who rose up above the level of the peasants, but they were very few. Basically, people rose from being peasants to becoming part of the “minor nobility” if they amassed enough wealth, that was the only middle class there was.

What brought about a true middle class is commerce; the free trade of goods, often across borders. Those who participated in this trade, often at great risk to themselves, were the true founders of the middle class. Unbeholden to a noble or lord, other than paying taxes, they were the first to start living as free men and women, with the freedom to buy and sell property, the ultimate freedom in a feudal world.

Our ancestors understood the importance of land ownership, even here in the United States. As it was originally created, our voting system only allowed landowners to vote. The Panic of 1819 led to the end of this, as many property owners lost their property and with it the right to vote. They demanded their rights as citizens back, ultimately leading to the several states changing their laws and allowing all white adult makes to vote by 1860.

While we would call that highly discriminatory today, the world was a different place back then. But that’s an issue for another day. The point here, is that the first step towards creating a middle class was the elimination of the feudal ownership of land and placing the land in the hands of the people. This was so important that the westward expansion of the United States was largely fueled by the government giving land to people who moved west.

That land ownership moved the people into the middle class. Regardless of their financial situation, they were no longer poor. The difference was that the work of their hands went to feeding them and their families, not to enriching some nobleman far away.

The private ownership of land gave commerce a huge leap forward. The buying and selling of land, as well as the produce of that land, gave people a chance to improve their financial state. No longer were people bound to poverty by being born to a particular caste or group, true upward mobility was available to the masses. One’s chance at wealth was linked more closely to their intelligence and industry than anything else.

This is the country our forefathers gave us; a country where it is possible for all to raise themselves out of poverty. Perhaps the first country like that in the whole world. Remember, at the time our country was founded, Europe was still run by feudal governments. While some countries had parliaments to create the laws, those parliaments were still populated by lords at that time.

Capitalism is the child of the freedom our forefathers gave us. Never before had the world seen such a system. Even the commercial system of Europe, which was probably the closest thing to our free-market system in existence at that time, wasn’t the same.

And Now…

poverty

Okay, so how does this all tie into poverty, the subject I started talking about? Simple. Our free-market capitalistic system, which liberals love to badmouth, is the greatest weapon against poverty there is. It is the one political/financial system in the world, which truly allows anyone to pick themselves up out of poverty and stand on their own two feet. It doesn’t matter if people start out rich or poor, if they are willing to work and apply their imagination, they can find a way to make money.

The proof of this is that most of the rest of the world has adopted the American model of a free market. While badly maligned, capitalism has taken over the world. Even countries like China, which is openly communist, allows capitalism, because it is that capitalism which brings the necessary money into their country, so that the government can do the things it wants to. While it’s doing that, it’s also creating an atmosphere where people can rise up and make a better living.

So, the great cure for poverty isn’t giving people a handout, it’s giving people a hand up. In other words, giving them the means to start their own business. Ultimately, they can make more money by running their own business, than they can working for someone else. Not only that, they aren’t dependent on someone else for a job.

This is being proven out in third-world countries, even as we speak. Organizations are offering micro-loans to people in these countries, so that they can start their own businesses. In many cases, those micro-loans are as little as twenty dollars. But in that economy, they are able to start a business.

Maybe you can’t start a business in the United States with twenty bucks, but you can still start one cheap. All someone needs to start an eBay store or Etsy store is a little bit of inventory and access to a computer. Even if they don’t have a computer at home, they can still do it, using a computer in a public library.

If we are ever going to win the war on poverty, it won’t be by spending another 22 trillion dollars, it will be by encouraging people to start their own businesses. At the same time, that will be the best thing that can be done for the economy overall.

Small businesses has been badly mauled in recent years, but their day is not over. There are still many people, myself included, who would rather do business with a local or small business, than give their money to the mega-corporations.

Almost all businesses start out as small businesses, even the great corporations of today. All it takes is someone with the guts and vision to start… and there’s no telling where they will go.

This article has been written by Bill White for Survivopedia.

References:

https://talkpoverty.org/basics/

https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL33069.pdf

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Prepper Investment Model Portfolio: Feb-Mar-Apr Results 2016

Today we present another article in our non-fiction writing contest – PrepperDoc

It’s time to see how various sectors of the “Prepper Investment Model Portfolio” did in the most recent quarter (Feb-Mar-Apr of 2016). I suggested this index of 11 sectors that are often of importance to survivalist types, in an article written at the end of July 2015. Each sector was defined by some publicly available benchmark price, and then weightings adjusted so that the total portfolio added up to $1000. The definitions of the sectors are repeated below in [1]. Note that...

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PREPAREDNESS TIP: REFRIGERATION IN HARD TIMES

by Andrew Skousen – Worldaffairsbrief.com

One of the most immediate problems during a prolonged power outage is keeping the food in your fridge and freezer from spoiling. In the coming hard times we expect the power to be out for a long time—estimates vary from a few weeks to over a year depending on your location. How will you keep food from spoiling during that time? And what will you do with the valuable food in your fridge and freezer as it warms up?

You can buy yourself more time by keeping spare space in the top of your freezer full of ice (frozen water bottles or ice packs that...

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May 9, 2016 Miscellany News Brief

1.) Russia to test unstoppable ‘Satan 2’ stealth nuke capable of wiping out an ENTIRE NATION: Moscow meda claims terrifying weapon can dodge radar defences and bring destruction to an area the size of ‘Texas or France’

2.) EMP Attack Will Kill 90% of US Population In One Year

3.) Prepping for Doomsday: Bunkers, Panic Rooms, and Going Off the Grid: Today, Americans en masse are again preparing for the worst—and Communists are just about the only thing not on their list. What is? Terrorist attacks, a total economic collapse, perhaps even zombie invasions. Or...

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Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Survive by Getting Real and Thinking About the Possible

Written by Guest Contributor on The Prepper Journal.

Be open to thinking about solving problems in non-routine ways by using the things or knowledge at hand. Your best resource is your brain and humans have big brains.

The post Survive by Getting Real and Thinking About the Possible appeared first on The Prepper Journal.

5 Little-Known Cold Weapons For Your Defense

SVP 5 little know weapons Many modern textbooks say that Native Americans and other cultures lost out to Europeans because the latter had the advantage of guns that easily outstripped bows, arrows, spears, and other common personal defense weapons.

It is also a well-known fact that if you are in a close range fight, most large guns will not be of much use to you. From that perspective, there are actually better, and far more lethal options that you can use for personal defense. A short look back in the history would help you a lot.

Since these “cold weapons” tend to be easy to build or obtain, there is no such thing as making them “illegal” or ever really putting as many controls on them as with guns and their relatively limited manufacture options.

As an added bonus, there are even limitations on many of these weapons because they do not require complex ammunition, if any at all.

1. Kusarigama

The Kusarigama is one of the most fascinating and deadly weapons used by the samurai of Japan. It is basically a combination of a chain and a sickle. If you add a larger ball at the other end of the chain, then you would also have the added benefit of a mace in a single weapon.

You can use the Kusarigama to:

deliver lethal cutting blows with the sickle,
use the chain to trip up someone trying to hurt you,
strangle an adversary using the chain
use the ball end to deliver blows to the head or strike at the eyes
you can also use the chain area to wrap around your arms or other areas where you need quick armor.

Before building or trying to use a Kusarigama, remember that the free moving end can very easily come back and hit you if you don’t know what you are doing. In the same manner, if you aren’t paying attention, or have no experience with using chains in a fight, then you may trip yourself up or get your limbs tangled up in the chain.

Practice with foam and breakaway string versions and then move up to light weight wood so that you become accustomed to the way the chain and each end move. As you add more weight to the weapon, you will also have to adjust your movements to compensate and also to redevelop your accuracy.

2. Throwing Star

The throwing star or death star is little more than a piece of metal fashioned into a 3 or 4, or more pointed star shape. They are easier to manage than throwing knives and can be much smaller in size.

As with spring assist guns, you can dip throwing stars in poison or adapt them to a range of needs. Throwing stars can also be made from just about any material including tin can lids or even very hard plastic if it is sharpened right.

Here are some adaptions to the basic throwing star that may make them even more lethal and versatile:

The Maya used to take wood and then add very sharp obsidian blades along the edges. You can try using this method to fashion a wooden throwing star and then use obsidian for the blades. Since the obsidian can be made into a sharper edge than metal, the star would have more cutting power.
Try making a polymer throwing star that is just thick enough to add springs into the center. Use the springs to release needles once the throwing star acquires its target.
Make foldable throwing stars that can be easily disguised and even easier to carry
try a different number of points or blade shape. For example, how does a curved blade work versus a straight blade?

Since the throwing star is thrown, there is always a chance that you will not be able to retrieve it. Therefore, you will have to make and carry several of them for effective self-defense.

On the other side of the equation, always practice with your throwing stars so that you do not wind up throwing in a way that creates a boomerang effect.

When using or carrying a throwing star, remember that it will be very difficult to use if the person is within arm’s length. This particular weapon is best used when the attacker is a few feet away and the star has enough distance to gain some rotational force. Always have a weapon on hand that can be used at closer quarters to back up the throwing star.

3. Atlatl

The Atlatl or spear thrower is a Mayan invention. This device is basically a half round tube with a cap on one end. It can be used to launch both spears and darts. Basically, as the Atlatl and the projectile are moved forward, additional force is stored in the Atlatl.

atlatl

As the spear or dart moves away from the thrower, it has more power and speed because the Atlatl is also pushing it.

Historically speaking, Atlatls were made of wood. You can also try making them out of plastic or other materials that are readily available. Few weapons can rival the Atlatl for being light weight, easy to conceal, and completely impossible to control.

If you can make a pipe with a cup on the end and a few darts, then you have a formidable device that can disable or kill many different kinds of attackers.

As with throwing stars, the Atlatl is best used for longer distances. Since the projectile can travel at almost 100 mph it can do more damage than several other weapons. You may also want to adapt the Atlatl by adding springs to the cup end to see if you can get better speed out of the projectile.

Even though you may not reach an average of 1700 mph (the average speed of a bullet), you may be able to get up to 500 mph out of the Atlatl when combined with other technologies.

4. Tetsubishi

The Tetsubishi is another fascinating device invented by the Samurai. Basically, it is three dimensional six pointed star with very sharp points. It is usually aimed at the feet of attackers.If someone steps on these weapons, the points will break through the bottom of their shoes and puncture their feet. At face value, this particular weapon doesn’t seem like more than a deterrent.

You can make the following adaptions to make the Tetsubishi more lethal and more effective against modern shoes:

Either make the points thinner or use needles on the ends to create a sharper point that can penetrate even the thickest work boot soles.
Use spring assist on the needles for more force and to deliver poison payloads
Dip the points in poison or even mercury if nothing else is available.
Do not overlook what you can do with the center of the Tetsubishi. When your foot lands on something, there is a natural reflex to be distracted and to pause for a split second. Even if you cannot get a strong enough needle or springs to fit into the points, there may be a way to deliver a more lethal payload from the center of the Tetsubishi. This includes a mini bomb that will detonate as the points collapse or something else that will do more than slow up your attackers. Even though the original design is not meant to have collapsing points, there are still some advantages if you want to use that collapse to launch a projectile up into an attacker’s foot.
Your design should be lightweight so that you can carry several of these devices.

When it comes to fighting off attackers, many anti-gunners make the insane claim that guns are more dangerous than other weapons because they can kill multiple people at one time. Sadly, their imaginary and ignorant thinking does not take in the reality that one bullet can only hit one target, and that only one bullet can leave the gun at a time.

That being said, many cold weapons do have the disadvantage of being mainly person to person defense weapons in situations where you may have multiple attackers.

The Tetsubishi has an advantage in these situations because you can throw a handful of small ones at a group and potentially trip up 5 – 6 people with one action. Alternatively, try throwing them from a bucket or other launcher and you can trip up dozens of people in less time than it would take to raise and fire a machine gun.

5. Yawara

The Yawara is a small piece of wood or metal that is designed to be held in the palm of your hand. In Japan, it was used to hit pressure points and other sensitive areas such as the eyes or parts of the face.

yawara

This is a very close range weapon that can also be used to make punches more effective.

Today, many self-defense classes teach you how to use house and car keys for a similar purpose.

If you want to customize the Yawara to make it more effective, consider spring assist technologies that can be used to push a poison needle into the flesh of an attacker.

At close ranges, you will not so much need fast projectile speed as you will the opportunity to reach flesh.

In order to use the Yawara effectively for this purpose, you will also need to know how to make fast acting poisons and sedatives. Fortunately, there are many poisonous plants that are easy to grow as well as a number of animal venom that are hard to regulate.

As a cold weapon, this one stands out because it is very compact and easily overlooked. There are also a number of adaptions that can make it more effective.As you can see, there are all sorts of cold weapons that may not be as powerful and compact as guns, however they can save your life in a crisis situation and be easier to conceal than guns.

With a little bit of practice and modification of these basic designs, you may even have a combination of personal defense weapons that will make guns useless in the hands of your attackers.

Subscribe to our newsletter (if you haven’t already) to get more knowledge about these uncommon weapons for your personal defense, and click on the banner below to find out the most effective techniques to defeat intruders!

This article has been written by Carmela Tyrell for Survivopedia.

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Monday, May 9, 2016

The Coming Economic Collapse

Written by Guest Contributor on The Prepper Journal.

People have been saying the US is on course for an economic collapse for years; however, several economists anticipate the US will default on its debt if the country does not change its fiscal policies.

The post The Coming Economic Collapse appeared first on The Prepper Journal.

Shtf Problem Solving

This is an entry in our Non-Fiction Writing contest – by Brian F

The last few weekends I have had at least one day to myself, along with Wednesday’s when my shop is closed. In early spring, we suffered a lightning storm late on a Friday night so I was without the net for the weekend. I wondered about living at least one day a week as if the country had suffered an event of some sort. After thinking it over for a few days I decided to run with the scenario of economic collapse and a mass corona burst/ eruption. I basically like the rest of my area would have no grid power, and...

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May 9, 2016 Miscellany News Brief

1.) There Has Never Been a Movie Like Amerigeddon: Amerika’s Future Foretold In One Movie: It is as thrilling and informative as it is terrifying. No movie has captured the essence of the dangers which presently confront the American people with the clarity and detail that Amerigeddon brings to movie audiences.

2.) Preppers Checklist: 10 Things To Do Now!: Here are ten things that you can do now that will make you better prepared than 90% of the population. And everything is available at your local shopping center – so it’s easy.

3.) Ten MORE Things To Do Now: Now let’s go back to the...

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Survival Herbal Recipes From Our Ancestors

Herbs Recipes

There are many ways to use herbs and they’re easy to grow even if you live in a small apartment because they’re small enough to pose as house plants. A bonus is that they’re fragrant, pretty, and easy to take care of. They’re great to use fresh to season food, but they’re medicinal too.

In a SHTF situation, having these ingredients will be good for bartering as well, because everyone will need them for medicinal purposes or just as a luxury.

Our ancestor used them well, and you need to know how to prepare them too. Some recipes will call for them to be used straight up or dried, but many call for teas, tinctures, poultices, infusions, decoctions, sprouting, or powders so you need to learn how to properly make those, too. Reas this great article about growing herbs indoors to see where to start from.

How To Dry Your Ingredients

drying herbs

First things first. In order to use your ingredients, you can dry them and there are a few different ways to do this. Drying is a great way to store them long-term, though most of them lose their efficacy and flavor slowly over time.

Simply harvest your ingredients and let them dry in a warm, dry spot out of the sun, or in the dehydrator or oven. Regardless of which method you choose, make sure that they’re in a single layer so that they dry evenly. If layered, they may mold before they dry, especially if you’re drying them naturally.

Wash them off to remove any dust or bugs. If you’re drying them naturally cover them with a paper towel to keep them clean while they’re drying. Let them dry completely until they crumble because moisture will cause them to mold. If you’re using the oven, do so at about 200 degrees or so.

You want them to dry but not burn, and you don’t want to cook them because you want to preserve the natural goodness in them, not bake them all out.

Once you’ve dried them, you need to store them in an air-tight container. If you won’t be using them within a few months, you can always vacuum seal them to extend storage time.

If you choose to dry the entire plant, you can dry it using the same methods as above or you can hang them upside down in a warm, dry spot out of the sun. You can also dry citrus rinds. They’re rich in vitamin C and add a nice flavor. Just grate the zest off and dry as stated above.

In addition to leaves, you can use the berries, roots, bark, seeds, stems and flowers of many plants too, using the same methods. It just depends on what the recipe, or your personal preference, calls for.

To take drying a step further, you may want to powder it. Simply grind the herb into a fine powder either by hand or using a coffee grinder.

How To Make Tea From Herbs

herb tea herb

Unless you’ve lived in a cave with no human interaction whatsoever, you’ve heard of tea. Teas, also called infusions, are made from the softer parts of plants such as leaves, flowers, or rinds. Sometimes seed and roots will be used in teas instead of decoctions because boiling will damage the essential oils in some plants. If you’re using seeds or roots, it’s best to crush them a bit in order to release the beneficial oils inside.

You can make tea from either fresh or dried ingredients and many of them are delicious as well as good for you. Teas are great for everything from personal pleasure to curing ailments and they’re quick and simple to make.

You can combine different ingredients for different flavor profiles or purposes, too. Play with them, and figure out which flavors you like best. If using them medicinally, do some research. I’ve written articles about that here and here.

You can put your ingredients in a tea ball or cheesecloth or you can place them directly in the water, then strain it. You can also drink them hot or cold. If the tea is medicinal and not particularly delicious, you can add a bit of honey or citrus rind as long as the recipe doesn’t specifically tell you not to.

A good rule of thumb is to use about 1 tsp. of powdered ingredients or 2 tsp. per cup of tea if you’re using dried. Double that if you’re using fresh ingredients. If you’re using them just for pleasure, you can adjust the amount to suit your taste. If you’re making a medicinal tea, you may use up to 1/2 cup of ingredients per cup, depending upon the recipe.

Start with boiling water, then put your ingredients in to steep, or put them in the cup and pour the hot water over them. Cover and let them steep for 10-20 minutes, then strain if necessary. Many medicinal tea or infusion recipes will call for longer steeping in order to infuse more of the plant benefits into the water. Enjoy!

teas

How To Make A Decoction

Decoctions are similar to teas except they’re made with harder parts of plants, such as roots, seeds, barks, and stems. The primary difference in preparation is that you boil the ingredients in the water in order to release the medicinal aspects.

Decoction

Bring your water to a boil and add the ingredients. It’s best to crush the ingredients a bit to release the oils and other benefits. Cover and reduce heat to a slow simmer. If you’re using smaller pieces, simmer for about 20 minutes. If using larger chunks, simmer for up to an hour, depending on what the recipe calls for. When it’s finished steeping, strain the herbs out and it’s finished.

The reason that you want to cover the decoction while it’s simmering is that you want to essential oils to drip back down into the decoction. A rule of thumb for amounts is a little over 1 tablespoon of dried ingredients per cup of decoction. If you’d like a stronger decoction, use more herbs, boil it longer, or let in steep overnight depending upon what the recipe calls for.

How To Make A Tincture

Tinctures are made when an ingredient isn’t particularly soluble in water or when you want to store it longer. The process uses alcohol in the form of vodka or rum (which needs to be at least 80 proof, or 40 percent alcohol), or 90-180 proof grain alcohol.

tinctures

You’ll need dark colored bottles with tight-fitting corks or lids because sunlight damages the medicinal value of the tincture. If you don’t have dark bottles, your tincture needs to be stored in a dark place.

Making a tincture is a simple process but it’s important that you use the proper amounts of alcohol and dried plants. The ratio should be 1 part plant material to 4 parts liquid. To make it easier, use 2 ounces of plant material for every 8 ounces (1 cup) liquid. It’s important that you measure the plants by weight, not volume because 1 tablespoon of dried basil will obviously be much larger in volume that 1 tablespoon of bark.

The percentage of alcohol is important as well, to ensure that you get a tincture with at least a 1-year shelf life. The liquid needs to be around 40 percent alcohol, which means that if you use 80 or 90 proof rum or vodka, you can use it as-is, but if you use grain alcohol (180 proof), use 1/2 cup alcohol and 1/2 cup distilled water.

Add the ingredients to your bottles and make sure that the cork or lid is tight. Store in a dark area. Shake once daily until the tincture is ready. If you’re using soft material such as leaves or powder, the process takes about 2 weeks. Harder matter such as bark or woody stalks will take a bit longer: about a month.

At the end of the processing time, strain the mixture through a strainer or cheese cloth to remove the solid matter, pressing on the plant matter (wringing if you’re using a cheese cloth) to get all the liquid out. If you used powder, stop shaking the tincture 3 days before it’s done. The powder will settle to the bottom and you can just pour the liquid off the top through a cheese cloth.

Pour the liquid into a clean glass (again, preferably dark) container and seal well. Store in a dark place at room temp. Since you’re using a large percentage of plant matter to liquid, and the alcohol better releases the properties of the plant, dosages of tincture tend to be much less than that of teas or decoctions.

Dosage does, of course, depend upon the recipe but the average dose of tincture is usually 1-2ml (30-60 drops) two or three times per day. You can take it directly in your mouth to absorb it faster or you can mix it in a few ounces of juice or water. If, for various reasons, you don’t want the alcohol, add the tincture to a couple ounces of very hot and the alcohol will evaporate in a couple of minutes.

Macerations

maceration

These are by far the easiest to prepare and are used for tender or fresh plants, or for material whose beneficial properties would be damaged using heat or alcohol. You simply soak the matter in water overnight and drink the water according to the directions in the recipe.

Poultices

poultice

These are super simple because the crushed herbs are either placed directly on the wound, or between two pieces of cheese cloth or bandage, then placed on the wound. You may need to add just enough water to dampen the herbs.

Then wrap the treated wound with a light cotton bandage to keep the poultice on the wound. You can even use a large leaf to hold the poultice if necessary.

Compresses

Compresses are just clothes that have been soaked in infusions, decoctions or tinctures. They’re placed on the wound and are often used in place of a poultice.

Now that you know a bit more about the different methods to prepare herbal recipes for survival, practice a bit. You wouldn’t want to use it for the first time ever in a life or death situation!

If you have any experience with using these herbal concoctions, or would like to share some great recipes, please do so in the comments section below.

This article has been written by Theresa Crouse for Survivopedia.

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