Free Republic

A man in Kansas lost all his feet toes after walking for an hour in the snow wearing only dress shoes. As I read the article (link), I wondered how many people could have easily been caught in the same situation. Some people do keep an emergency kit of some sort in their cars. Usually this is some kind of basic car breakdown kit or of bug out bag.

Subfreezing temperatures and a night of rain and sleet on top of Wednesday’s snow promise to keep the Triangle largely shut down through Thursday night and possibly into Friday. The second stage of the storm was setting in even as police and tow trucks tried to clear the vehicles abandoned on the sides of roads and highways Wednesday. Forecasters had predicted the storm for days, prompting Wake County schools to close Wednesday, but the snow seemed to catch thousands off guard, trapping columns of cars on snow-whitened streets and highways.

Every year somewhere in our country tens of thousands of Americans experience an emergency resulting from any number of scenarios that may include natural disasters, economic hardship or other unexpected circumstances. And every year we watch with amazement as those in areas that have been affected by snow storms, hurricanes, tornadoes or earthquakes lose everything and have no backup plan to deal with the crisis. The thin veneer of our civilization should be apparent to everyone, yet it seems that no one really gets it.

A sense of pessimism pervades on the island. Streets are lined with empty storefronts in San Juan and in smaller cities like Mayagüez; small businesses, hit hard by high electricity, water and tax bills and hurt by drops in sales, have closed and stayed closed. Schools sit shuttered either because of disrepair or because of a dwindling number of students. In this typically convivial capital, communities have erected gates and bars to help thwart carjackers and home invaders. Illegal drugs, including high-level narcotrafficking, are one of the few growth industries. Puerto Rico, about 1,000 miles from Miami, has long been...

Like I said before, situation can change from good to bad quickly. Especially when people are tired of whats going on. In my country 40% of people have no jobs, widespread corruption, prices are expensive for almost everything. There are now riots in several cities in my region here, spreading all over the country. I have been in riots before, and also been in riots that lead into the full scale war we had, so there are few things that I want to explain you about riots:

Chances are you didn’t hear about it when it happened or the investigation that followed. Last April just outside of San Jose, California the grid system came under direct attack. Investigators have yet to identify any suspects, but the attack seems to have been well planned. First, someone accessed an underground vault housing fiber optic telephone cables and cut off communications to a large PG&E Substation. Then, for 19 minutes, someone opened fire from long-range. The sniper apparently utilized 7.62x39mm rounds, such as those used in an AK-47, to target the oil-driven cooling systems for 17 large transformers. The shell...

1. Invest in a water filter. 2. Build an emergency medical kit. 3. Keep a few hens. 4. Grow some vegetables and/or fruits. 5. Learn to can. 6. Get a stand-alone freezer. 7. Learn to bake bread. 8. Purchase at least one firearm and get comfortable using it. 9. Homeschool your children.

While President Obama and Congressional members have made an effort to convince their constituents that the provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act will never be used against citizens of the United States, the fact is that the laws clearly allow for the detention, arrest and detainment of Americans without charge or trial. The President attempted to assuage these fears of potential abuse of the law by including a signing statement promising he would never use the law against Americans, but the statement itself is non-binding, leaving the possibility of misuse wide open. In the event of a declared national...

We understand that Doomsday predictions are aplenty these days, but given what’s going on around the world right now it may be time to revisit the eerily prescient forecast of an elite insider. Grady Means is a former advisor to Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, a former economist at the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, and has managed multi-billion dollar firms over his career. Back in October of 2012 Means penned a commentary and analysis for the Washington Times in which he noted that “America’s fall will take global economies with it.” But he didn’t stop there. Means gave...

Defense: Budget cuts, sequestration and indifference to maintaining what was once "the arsenal of democracy" have led to units that are not deployment-ready and soldiers with weapons their grandfathers could have used. The standing ovation given at the State of the Union to Sgt. 1st Class Cory Remsburg, seriously wounded in an Afghan war that his commander in chief did not believe was winnable, was well deserved. It also served as a tribute to all the heroes we send into battle, particularly under rules of engagement that often make the proverbial "one hand tied behind your back" a preferable option....

A popular article in the survival sphere entitled “Lessons from Argentina’s economic collapse” from Ferfal documents the struggles of living in a collapsing society. Download it here in pdf Argentina Collapse or simply read below.

From Terry Burnham, former Harvard economics professor, author of “Mean Genes” and “Mean Markets and Lizard Brains,” provocative poster on this page and long-time critic of the Federal Reserve, argues that the Fed’s efforts to strengthen America’s banks have perversely weakened them. First posted in PBS. Is your money safe at the bank? An economist says ‘no’ and withdraws his Last week I had over $1,000,000 in a checking account at Bank of America. Next week, I will have $10,000.

Celente isn’t suggesting that a massive collapse is going to happen in the future. He says we’re already in it – and it’s taking hold right before our eyes across the entirety of the globe:

His web site may consist of just a single page, but Matt Drudge is arguably the most influential media personality in the world. Garnering nearly one billion readers monthly, the Drudge Report is able to literally shift public sentiment, making it an essential read for D.C. insiders, Wall Street professionals, and anyone who wants to stay on top of the latest global issues. If Matt Drudge headlines a story its viral spread to millions of readers in near real-time is guaranteed. With his established connections to critical spheres of influence that include everything from politics and government to finance and...

HSBC is imposing restrictions on large cash withdrawals raising a number of red flags. The BBC reports that some HSBC customers have been prevented from withdrawing large amounts of cash because they could not provide evidence of why they wanted it. HSBC admitted it has not informed customers of the change in policy, which was implemented in November for their own good: “We ask our customers about the purpose of large cash withdrawals when they are unusual… the reason being we have an obligation to protect our customers, and to minimise the opportunity for financial crime.” As one customer responded:...

There’s a whole slew of things that I want included in my food storage pantry, but many of them don’t lend themselves well to the canning process (chocolate!), can’t be dehydrated (walnuts!), or aren’t a great candidate for the classic 5-gallon bucket (sunflower seeds!). Packing these foods in canning jars and then using a vacuum sealer, such as a Food Saver, to store them long-term is super easy.

As a survivalist/prepper, I hear a lot of, "I don't want to be a prepper, but I want to be prepared. What should I do? How do I start?" So I compiled a lot of information from FEMA, Red Cross, and other places that have very "basic" information and started typing up a list for them. The four "basic" areas I decided would be a good starting point: getting your whole family involved, what to do before an emergency, what to do after an emergency, and emergency sanitation. I say "basic" because this is only a starting point! This by...

Lots of regular people in todays society see us prepper and survivalists as weirdos in camouflage suits, conspiracy nuts and similar. Most of them are right, lots of „survivalists“ also help in building that image of survivalists. It is hard for some people to just shut up and prep, what they should do to keep low profile. But some people make survival so much part of who they are they want to show off. Their choice. Point is that there are lot of definitions of survivalists there, and each one of them is like „written in stone“. I think survival...

Event Phases: Phase 1 – Pre-Event Phase 2 – The Event Occurs. Phase 3 – Reaction of the General Public to the Event. Phase 4 – Government Reaction to the General Public’s Reaction to the Event. Phase 5 – Individual Reaction to the Governments Reaction to the Event: Phase 6 – Stabilization of Situation Post Event. Phase 7 – Long Term Adjustment of Population and Governments to Situations Resulting from the Event.

Survival is double edged sword. You want to be mentally prepared for worst case scenario but nobody can without having been there. Sometimes when I read survival forums I see people living in fear, even life is not bad for them at the moment. If I have wish for everyone for 2014 it is that people get serious about survival and preparedness but also enjoy good times as long as they last. Anxiety, depression and negative thinking can take your energy away before anything starts. This here now is post I wrote some months ago, to put my feelings and...