Posted on 02/09/2009 12:36:11 AM PST by nw_arizona_granny
Yahoo ran an interesting article this morning indicating a rise in the number of survivalist communities cropping up around the country. I have been wondering myself how much of the recent energy crisis is causing people to do things like stockpile food and water, grow their own vegetables, etc. Could it be that there are many people out there stockpiling and their increased buying has caused food prices to increase? It’s an interesting theory, but I believe increased food prices have more to do with rising fuel prices as cost-to-market costs have increased and grocers are simply passing those increases along to the consumer. A recent stroll through the camping section of Wal-Mart did give me pause - what kinds of things are prudent to have on hand in the event of a worldwide shortage of food and/or fuel? Survivalist in Training
I’ve been interested in survival stories since I was a kid, which is funny considering I grew up in a city. Maybe that’s why the idea of living off the land appealed to me. My grandfather and I frequently took camping trips along the Blue Ridge Parkway and around the Smoky Mountains. Looking back, some of the best times we had were when we stayed at campgrounds without electricity hookups, because it forced us to use what we had to get by. My grandfather was well-prepared with a camp stove and lanterns (which ran off propane), and when the sun went to bed we usually did along with it. We played cards for entertainment, and in the absence of televisions, games, etc. we shared many great conversations. Survivalist in the Neighborhood
(Afghanistan) Girls collapse after suspected poison attack on Afghan school
— “Dozens of girls collapsed and needed hospital attention after a
suspected airborne chemical attack on a school in northern Afghanistan”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/5230680/Girls-collapse-after-suspected-poison-attack-on-Afghan-school.html
Health Security News:
(U.S.) Gov’t advises against unnecessary travel to Mexico
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_travel/20090427/ap_tr_ge/us_travel_brief_swine_flu_us_mexico
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0409/21710.html
— ‘More than 100’ infected at New York school
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6182048.ece
— Americans told to wear masks as swine flu spreads round globe
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article6173927.ece
— Swine flu arrives in Europe as emergency health summit announced
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article6178618.ece
— Swine flu prompts EU warning on travel to US
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/158827/Swine-flu-prompts-EU-warning-on-travel-to-US
— Europe’s first swine flu case confirmed in Spain
http://www.expatica.com/es/news/spanish-news/Europe_s-first-swine-flu-case-confirmed-in-Spain_52019.html
— Pandemic fear as swine flu reaches UK
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article6182057.ece
— The Scottish hospital at the centre of the British swine flu outbreak
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/swine-flu/5233010/The-Scottish-hospital-at-the-centre-of-the-British-swine-flu-outbreak.html
— WHO raises swine flu alert level to 4
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30398682/
— HK scientists developing rapid test for swine flu
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/ap/20090428/tap-as-china-swine-flu-test-bb10fb8.html
__._,_.___
If reposting elsewhere, please credit source of this research as UnitedStatesAction.com
UNDIAGNOSED RESPIRATORY ILLNESS, STUDENTS - CHINA: (SHAANXI) REQUEST
FOR INFORMATION
********************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
Date: Sat 25 Apr 2009
Source: Huashang Bao, China Daily report [in Chinese, trans. Rappt.DS, edited]
http://news.sina.com.cn/c/2009-04-25/030215524734s.shtml
Outbreak of upper respiratory illness at a primary school in Shaanxi Province
Yesterday [24 Apr 2009], the main gate at “August First” Primary
School in Shide Village in Liquan County was locked. A few kids were
playing outside the main gate. A 3rd grade student said that their
school has been closed since Thursday [23 Apr 2009] because so many
students developed fever, colds [alternative translation is
“influenza” - Rappt.DS]. School administrators said the school has a
total of 300 students. Around 20 Apr 2009, students began developing
fever, cough, and vomiting. Since then, the number of symptomatic
students has been increasing and there are now 116 students taken ill.
To prevent cross-infection among students, the school was shut down
for 4 days. Students are now being treated at Liquan County People’s
Hospital and Shide Village Health Center. Analysis by Shide Village
Health Center has confirmed that the cause of illness is an upper
respiratory tract infection, classified as a cold [alternative
translation is “influenza” - Rappt.DS]. Liquan County education,
public health, and disease control agencies are now investigating the
cause of illness.
[Byline: Wei Guangjing]
—
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail Rapporteur Dan Silver
[Liquan County is a county of Xianyang district in Shaanxi province,
China. It can be located on the HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map
at
http://healthmap.org/r/00au
It is not possible from the information available to identify the
specific cause of this outbreak of upper respiratory tract illness.
One can only conclude that it is not caused by avian A/(H5N1)
influenza virus infection due to the extent of the outbreak and
presumed absence of exposure to diseased fowl. Likewise the novel
strain of A/(H1N1) influenza virus causing global concern is unlikely
to be responsible in the absence of stated exposure of the pupils to
persons from abroad and Mexico in particular. Further information
would be welcomed. - Mod.CP]
........................................cp/mj/jw
RICE DISEASES - USA (03): QUARANTINE
************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
Date: Fri 24 Apr 2009
Source: News-Leader (Missouri) [edited]
http://www.news-leader.com/article/20090424/BREAKING01/90424023/
Agriculture department warns growers about California rice seed
Missouri currently has a quarantine on California rice seed and on
California seed from other states because of the threat of bakanae
infection.
Bakanae is a fungus common to other countries but first introduced to
the USA in 1999. Missouri currently has no reported cases of bakanae
disease in rice seeds.
[snipped]
—
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
[Bakanae disease of rice (also called foot rot in some Asian
countries) is caused by the fungus _Gibberella fujikuroi_ and can
cause significant crop losses of up to 20 percent. The fungus also
affects other crops, including barley, maize, sorghum, sugarcane,
tomato, banana, and cowpea. Symptoms on rice include abnormal growth
patterns, death of seedlings, reduced tillering, and partially filled
or empty seed heads.
The fungus infects plants through roots or crowns and later becomes
systemic. Seeds are usually infected during the flowering stage and
the disease is primarily seed-borne. The fungus survives under
adverse conditions in infected seeds and diseased plant parts.
Disease management is difficult and includes use of certified clean
seeds and fungicides, however rapid development of pathogen
resistance has been observed.
Similar warnings of possible bakanae incursions with Californian rice
seed have been issued for Arkansas and other states earlier (see
ProMED-mail posts below).
Maps
USA:
http://www.mapsofworld.com/usa/usa-road-map-enlarge-view.html and
http://healthmap.org/r/00at
US states:
http://www.census.gov/geo/www/us_regdiv.pdf
Pictures of bakanae symptoms and fungal spores:
http://plantpro.doae.go.th/diseasegroup/rice/bakanae/bakanae.jpg
Links
Bakanae disease fact sheet (with pictures):
http://www.knowledgebank.irri.org/RiceDoctor/Fact_Sheets/Diseases/Bakanae.htm
_G. fujikuroi_ taxonomy:
http://www.indexfungorum.org/Names/NamesRecord.asp?RecordID=265414
- Mod.DHA]
[see also:
Rice diseases - USA (02): quarantine 20090317.1079
Rice diseases - USA: quarantine 20090313.1029
2008
NEWS from CPSC
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Office of Information and Public Affairs
Washington, DC 20207
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 27, 2009
Release #09-201
Firm’s Recall Hotline: (888) 825-8905
CPSC Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772
CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908
Leg Curl Fitness Machines Recalled by Paramount Fitness Due To Crushing Hazard
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.
Name of Product: Leg Curl Machines
Units: About 150
Manufacturer: Paramount Fitness Corp., of Los Angeles, Calif.
Hazard: A consumer’s hand can become caught between the cylindrical counter weight and the frame of the fitness machine, posing a crushing hazard that can result in lacerations and finger amputation.
Incidents/Injuries: Paramount has received three reports of incidents, including a finger amputation and two finger-crushing injuries.
Description: This recall involves the Paramount Fitness PL2100 leg curl machine. The single station weight machine is designed to exercise the hamstring muscles. Serial numbers involved in this recall include: PL21-9301-000 through PL21-9510-099. The serial number is printed on the back of the weight stack frame on the lower right. Model number PL2100 is printed on the exercise procedure label on the front of the machine. The Paramount Fitness logo is printed vertically on the frame.
Sold by: Paramount Fitness and fitness specialty dealers nationwide from January 1993 through October 1995 for about $2,400.
Manufactured in: United States
Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the fitness machines and contact Paramount Fitness to receive a free repair kit.
Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Paramount Fitness at (888) 825-8905 between 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. PT daily, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.paramountfitness.com
To see this recall on CPSC’s web site, including pictures of the recall product, please go to: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09201.html
I have a pressure canner. Any meat in the freezer can be canned in pretty short order. We’d lose a few things, other than that, but not much.
Speaking of stocking up, after a little gardening before the rain, I’m heading up to the local megamarket and getting some things that would be useful for a few weeks.
http://infomotions.com/etexts/gutenberg/dirs/1/0/7/6/10766/10766.htm
[Hints and recipes for everything in the home and yard.]
Enquire Within Upon Everything The Great Victorian Domestic Standby / Anonymous
Author: Anonymous
Title: Enquire Within Upon Everything The Great Victorian Domestic Standby
Contributor(s):
Size: 1832159
Identifier: etext10766
Publisher: Project Gutenberg
Rights: GNU General Public License
Tag(s): water half ounces time pound anonymous ebook cost restrictions whatsoever enquire victorian domestic standby project gutenberg
Early Vegetarian cookbook
http://infomotions.com/etexts/gutenberg/dirs/1/0/6/3/10632/10632.htm
The Healthy Life Cook Book, 2d ed. / Daniel, Florence
Author: Daniel, Florence
Title: The Healthy Life Cook Book, 2d ed.
Contributor(s): Johnson, Percy D. [Illustrator]
[1918 Excellent frugal recipes]
http://infomotions.com/etexts/gutenberg/dirs/1/5/4/6/15464/15464.htm
Foods That Will Win The War And How To Cook Them (1918) /
Author:
Title: Foods That Will Win The War And How To Cook Them (1918)
Contributor(s): Furman, E. A. [Illustrator]
Size: 200698
Identifier: etext15464
Publisher: Project Gutenberg
http://infomotions.com/etexts/gutenberg/dirs/etext04/cookr11.htm
How to Make and Use The BYU Solar Cooker/Cooler
by Steven E. Jones, Professor of Physics at Brigham Young
University (BYU), with Colter Paulson, Jason Chesley, Jacob Fugal,
Derek Hullinger, Jamie Winterton, Jeannette Lawler, and Seth,
David, Nathan, and Danelle Jones.
Copyright (c) 2002 by Steven E. Jones stevejones@byu.edu
Original web site with this article:
http://solarcooking.org/funnel.htm
[Image: 01.jpg — Photo description this image shows a cardboard
box being used to support a silvery funnel, roughly 3 feet high.
The funnel is placed within the box so that the sides of the box
hold the funnel upright. Sitting within the base of the funnel
is a black jar inside a clear plastic bag. The plastic bag is
inflated like a balloon to seal an insulating air pocket around
the jar.]
Contents
I. Introduction
II. How it works
III. How to Build Your Own Solar Funnel Cooker
- What You will Need for the Funnel Cooker
- Construction Steps
IV. Final Steps
V. After Cooking
VI. Tests
- Tests in Utah
- Tests in Bolivia
VII. Water and Milk Pasteurization
VIII. Safety
IX. Cooking with the Solar Funnel Cooker
X. How to Use the Solar Funnel as a Refrigerator/Cooler
XI. Conclusion: Why We Need Solar Cookers
XII. Answers to commonly-asked questions
XIII. Recipe for wheatpaste
XIV. Updates
- Rabbit-wire base
- Reduced angle
- Save-heat cooker
- Funnel-cooling during the day
- Hot-and-cold running water
- Conclusion
[A page of survival information, several types of survival, a lot of good information...]
http://www.angelfire.com/art/enchanter/survival/KIT0.html
The Survival Kit article.
This was originally a chapter for my travelling book, but grew and got out of hand. Rather than let this go to waste it is reproduced here in full form. This page is pretty much reproduced “as is”, so some of my ideas may have changed a little.
A good site on military orientated survival kit
The excellent Equipped to Survive site.
An older article by me on surivival kits
phwestATgmailDOTcom
Part of being a good traveler lies in the preparation beforehand. Another part lies in coping when things go wrong-a combination of attitude, preparation and improvisation.
This chapter is mainly about selecting items to deal with emergencies -emergency or survival kit if you like, though we’ll use the term with reservation, since many people assign this quite a narrow definition.
To many people the terms survival and Wilderness survival are interchangeable. My “survival kit” is anything that makes my life easier rather than just a collection of items to let me spend the night in the woods. Many of the items mentioned will seem to be for a wilderness application, and you may be tempted to move to the next chapter if you have no interest in the great outdoors. In fact many of these items have proved just as useful in town, and sometimes you don’t have a choice in avoiding nature. A railway platform can seem as cold and uncomfortable as any welsh hillside. Emergency kit doesn’t just refer to what you can pack into a tobacco tin -it includes everything you have, have around you or know.
The majority of emergencies seem to occur due to the loss, absence or breaking down of something, including yourself, or a combination of these. You can’t prepare for everything, but you can anticipate what is most likely and select equipment appropriately. For a traveler in more populated areas, common problems are likely to be medical, theft or being stranded without accommodation or transport. For a motorist, a possible problem is likely to be the vehicle breaking down, resulting in a long walk or prolonged wait.
The main item that all of us should have is a properly educated brain. Dealing with problems is best done with a combination of knowledge, imagination and determination. One can add to this a cool head and confidence, and these are mainly a product of practice and experience. Without the proper attitude, the best selection of items in the world is of no use at all. You can have a lot of fun selecting survival kit and finding novel ways to carry it and use it, but you mustn’t fall into the trap of it becoming a psychological crutch. The majority of items in these kits are conveniences rather than necessities. They are items for which a substitute or replacement for can be produced given sufficient knowledge and materials -which is why I try to concentrate on teaching the principles behind things. Yes, it is easier to survive with a decent knife or lots of money but not having a kit makes things harder -it is not a death sentence. Spend an evening looking at each item of your kit and ask yourself -”how would I cope without this”.
How you handle an emergency is far more relevant than what you have. I was once sent on a management course, one of the proper ones that deals in psychology rather than playing at building bridges. One of the things they told me was:-
“Don’t just do something, Sit there!”
By this they meant that the most efficient way to do things was not to rush into things, but to sit and think about it for a moment. Often an easier way will suggest itself.
If, for example, you realize you are lost, sit down for a moment. Smoke a cigarette, chew a stick, eat a sweet, do Tai Chi -whatever will calm you down. Often just sitting like this will produce a solution or allow you to realize where you went astray. “Count your blessings” -review what items you have with you that may be of assistance. That includes the resources the environment has as well as what you are carrying.
Some instructors summarize this by the acronym STOP.
* Stop
* Take stock (Count your blessings).
* Orientate yourself.
* Plan.
As far as equipment for emergencies goes, there are two considerations.
continues....
http://infomotions.com/etexts/gutenberg/dirs/1/8/4/8/18487/18487.htm
FOOD REMEDIES
FACTS ABOUT FOODS AND THEIR MEDICINAL USES
BY
FLORENCE DANIEL
LONDON
C. W. DANIEL
11 CURSITOR STREET, E.C.
1908
_PREFACE_
There is a sentence in the Talmud to the effect that the Kingdom of God
is nigh when the teacher gives the name of the author of the information
that he is passing on. With every desire to fulfil the rabbinical
precept and acknowledge the sources of this booklet, I find myself in a
quandary. If I make my acknowledgments duly I must begin with my
grandmother and Culpeper’s Herbal. Following upon those come the results
of my own and friends’ practical experience. After this I should,
perhaps, give a list of the periodicals from whose pages I have culled
much helpful information. But as space and memory preclude individual
mention I must content myself with this general acknowledgment. Lastly,
I desire to record my thanks to Dr. Fernie, whose _Meals Medicinal_, a
large and exhaustive collection of facts about food, has afforded not
the least valuable assistance.
F. D.
Good, with a canner you will be able to store even more.
Stocking up is always wise.
Heavy demand for guns, ammo puts strain on supply chain <<<
I laugh each time that I see that as a headline.
No wonder that the liberals are scared of those of us who still think we are free.
Good idea. I’m using that argument for my hubby on why we need a canner NOW. He wants to wait till we grow enough stuff to can.<<<
Tell him no waiting, for at harvest time this year they will be sold out and you will loose your crop while waiting on some stores list for one to come in.
Canning things come first for you might be able to buy something to can from local farmers............I hope.
[Could have been written for today....]
http://infomotions.com/etexts/gutenberg/dirs/etext05/barnm10.htm
The Art of Money Getting or Golden Rules for Making Money
by P.T. Barnum
In the United States, where we have more land than people, it is not at
all difficult for persons in good health to make money. In this
comparatively new field there are so many avenues of success open, so
many vocations which are not crowded, that any person of either sex who
is willing, at least for the time being, to engage in any respectable
occupation that offers, may find lucrative employment.
Those who really desire to attain an independence, have only to set
their minds upon it, and adopt the proper means, as they do in regard to
any other object which they wish to accomplish, and the thing is easily
done. But however easy it may be found to make money, I have no doubt
many of my hearers will agree it is the most difficult thing in the
world to keep it. The road to wealth is, as Dr. Franklin truly says, “as
plain as the road to the mill.” It consists simply in expending less
than we earn; that seems to be a very simple problem. Mr. Micawber, one
of those happy creations of the genial Dickens, puts the case in a
strong light when he says that to have annual income of twenty pounds
per annum, and spend twenty pounds and sixpence, is to be the most
miserable of men; whereas, to have an income of only twenty pounds, and
spend but nineteen pounds and sixpence is to be the happiest of mortals.
Many of my readers may say, “we understand this: this is economy, and we
know economy is wealth; we know we can’t eat our cake and keep it also.”
Yet I beg to say that perhaps more cases of failure arise from mistakes
on this point than almost any other. The fact is, many people think they
understand economy when they really do not.
continues....
http://infomotions.com/etexts/gutenberg/dirs/1/7/3/1/17316/17316.htm
Letters of a Soldier 1914-1915 / Anonymous
Author: Anonymous
Title: Letters of a Soldier 1914-1915
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