Main Core isn’t some fancy nightclub where you slide the bouncer a $20 and he lets you slide through the door.

In fact, this is a list that you want to avoid being on if at all possible…

Make sure that you are not on this list…. by any means necessary

http://www.survivallife.com/wipe-the-slate

Read below to find out why:

Are you one of the millions of Americans that have been designated a threat to national security by the U.S. government?  Will you be subject to detention when martial law is imposed during a major national emergency?

As you will see below, there is actually a list that contains the names of at least 8 million Americans known as Main Core that the U.S. intelligence community has been compiling since the 1980s.  A recent article on Washington’s Blog quoted a couple of old magazine articles that mentioned this program, and I was intrigued because I didn’t know what it was.  So I decided to look into Main Core, and what I found out was absolutely stunning – especially in light of what Edward Snowden has just revealed to the world.

It turns out that the U.S. government is not just gathering information on all of us.  The truth is that the U.S. government has used this information to create a list of threats to national security that the government would potentially watch, question or even detain during a national crisis.  If you have ever been publicly critical of the government, there is a very good chance that you are on that list.

The following is how Wikipedia describes Main Core…

Main Core is the code name of a database maintained since the 1980s by the federal government of the United States. Main Core contains personal and financial data of millions of U.S. citizens believed to be threats to national security. The data, which comes from the NSA, FBI, CIA, and other sources, is collected and stored without warrants or court orders. The database’s name derives from the fact that it contains “copies of the ‘main core’ or essence of each item of intelligence information on Americans produced by the FBI and the other agencies of the U.S. intelligence community.”

It was Christopher Ketchum of Radar Magazine that first reported on the existence of Main Core.  At the time, the shocking information that he revealed did not get that much attention.  That is quite a shame, because it should have sent shockwaves across the nation…

According to a senior government official who served with high-level security clearances in five administrations, “There exists a database of Americans, who, often for the slightest and most trivial reason, are considered unfriendly, and who, in a time of panic, might be incarcerated. The database can identify and locate perceived ‘enemies of the state’ almost instantaneously.” He and other sources tell Radar that the database is sometimes referred to by the code name Main Core. One knowledgeable source claims that 8 million Americans are now listed in Main Core as potentially suspect. In the event of a national emergency, these people could be subject to everything from heightened surveillance and tracking to direct questioning and possibly even detention.

Of course, federal law is somewhat vague as to what might constitute a “national emergency.” Executive orders issued over the last three decades define it as a “natural disaster, military attack, [or] technological or other emergency,” while Department of Defense documents include eventualities like “riots, acts of violence, insurrections, unlawful obstructions or assemblages, [and] disorder prejudicial to public law and order.” According to one news report, even “national opposition to U.S. military invasion abroad” could be a trigger.

So if that list contained 8 million names all the way back in 2008, how big might it be today?

That is a very frightening thing to think about.

Later on in 2008, Tim Shorrock of Salon.com also reported on Main Core…

Dating back to the 1980s and known to government insiders as “Main Core,” the database reportedly collects and stores — without warrants or court orders — the names and detailed data of Americans considered to be threats to national security. According to several former U.S. government officials with extensive knowledge of intelligence operations, Main Core in its current incarnation apparently contains a vast amount of personal data on Americans, including NSA intercepts of bank and credit card transactions and the results of surveillance efforts by the FBI, the CIA and other agencies. One former intelligence official described Main Core as “an emergency internal security database system” designed for use by the military in the event of a national catastrophe, a suspension of the Constitution or the imposition of martial law.

So why didn’t this information get more attention at the time?

Well, if Obama had lost the 2008 election it might have.  But Obama won in 2008 and the liberal media assumed that he would end many of the abuses that were happening under Bush.  Of course that has not happened at all.  In fact, Obama has steadily moved the police state agenda ahead aggressively.  Edward Snowden has just made that abundantly clear to the entire world.

After 2008, it is unclear exactly what happened to Main Core.  Did it expand, change names, merge with other programs or get superseded by a new program?  It appears extremely unlikely that it simply faded away.  In light of what we have just learned about NSA snooping, someone should ask our politicians some very hard questions about Main Core.  According to Christopher Ketchum, the exact kind of NSA snooping that Edward Snowden has just described was being used to feed data into the Main Core database…

A host of publicly disclosed programs, sources say, now supply data to Main Core. Most notable are the NSA domestic surveillance programs, initiated in the wake of 9/11, typically referred to in press reports as “warrantless wiretapping.” In March, a front-page article in the Wall Street Journal shed further light onto the extraordinarily invasive scope of the NSA efforts: According to the Journal, the government can now electronically monitor “huge volumes of records of domestic e-mails and Internet searches, as well as bank transfers, credit card transactions, travel, and telephone records.”

Authorities employ “sophisticated software programs” to sift through the data, searching for “suspicious patterns.” In effect, the program is a mass catalog of the private lives of Americans. And it’s notable that the article hints at the possibility of programs like Main Core. “The [NSA] effort also ties into data from an ad-hoc collection of so-called black programs whose existence is undisclosed,” the Journal reported, quoting unnamed officials. “Many of the programs in various agencies began years before the 9/11 attacks but have since been given greater reach.”

The following information seems to be fair game for collection without a warrant: the e-mail addresses you send to and receive from, and the subject lines of those messages; the phone numbers you dial, the numbers that dial in to your line, and the durations of the calls; the Internet sites you visit and the keywords in your Web searches; the destinations of the airline tickets you buy; the amounts and locations of your ATM withdrawals; and the goods and services you purchase on credit cards. All of this information is archived on government supercomputers and, according to sources, also fed into the Main Core database.

This stuff is absolutely chilling.

And there have been hints that such a list still exists today.

For example, the testimony of an anonymous government insider that was recently posted on shtfplan.com alluded to such a list…

“We know all this already,” I stated. He looked at me, giving me a look like I’ve never seen, and actually pushed his finger into my chest. “You don’t know jack,” he said, “this is bigger than you can imagine, bigger than anyone can imagine. This administration is collecting names of sources, whistle blowers and their families, names of media sources and everybody they talk to and have talked to, and they already have a huge list. If you’re not working for MSNBC or CNN, you’re probably on that list. If you are a website owner with a brisk readership and a conservative bent, you’re on that list. It’s a political dissident list, not an enemy threat list,” he stated.

What in the world is happening to America?

What in the world are we turning into?

As I mentioned in a previous article, the NSA gathers 2.1 million gigabytes of data on all of us every single hour.  The NSA is currently constructing a 2 billion dollar data center out in Utah to store all of this data.

If you are disturbed by all of this, now is the time to stand up and say something.  If this crisis blows over and people forget about all of this stuff again, the Big Brother surveillance grid that is being constructed all around us will just continue to grow and continue to become even more oppressive.

America is dying right in front of your eyes and time is running out.  Please stand up and be counted while you still can.

View the original article

Want to know how to protect yourself from “Big Brother’s” prying eyes?

Check this out: http://www.survivallife.com/wipe-the-slate

For years, military organizations have contracted to have “Meals Ready to Eat” (or MREs) made for distribution to hungry soldiers in the field when a mess kitchen was unavailable.

The evolution of military grade MREs from the 1960’s era to now has resulted in light weight pouches that contain a complete meal sealed into a tidy packet.

A typical MRE contains a main course, side dish, bread, dessert, and flameless ration heater.  There will also be a napkin, eating utensil and condiments such as salt and pepper.

True U.S. military MREs are well marked with the designation “U.S. Government Property, Commercial Resale is Unlawful” although this is a misnomer since there are no laws that forbid the resale of MREs.

The components of one of the MREs used for this article.

That said, the companies that produce military MREs market similar MREs to civilians, often in cases of 12 units but also as individual packets.

In addition, it is not unusual for companies such as Mountain House, Wise, Thrive Life and others to refer to their meal-sized food pouches as MREs.  Alas, this confuses the consumer since these pouches of food are not anything like the military MRES.

Instead these pouches represent a standalone entrée, side dish or dessert suitable for one, two, or more people.  Examples include chili, beef stroganoff, chicken alfredo and similar dishes that require the addition of very hot or boiling water before they can be consumed.

TESTING THE REAL THING – MILITARY STYLE MEAL READY TO EAT

Last January, I was contacted by the Meal Kit Supply company and was offered a case of their MREs for testing and review purposes.  I accepted with the usual caveat that I would post an honest and truthful review.

The box of MREs arrived a few weeks later and thus began the disgusting discovery that these meals were not only expensive, but laden with chemicals and unhealthy ingredients.

Not only that, the flameless heater did not work worth a darn and the so called “meal ready to eat” had to be heated in a pot of boing water on the stove.  The portions were tiny when compared, for example, to the Food Insurance or Mountain House pouches and the company, well, more about that later.

I realized at this point that my opinion was not going to stand up on its own.  After all, the reviews I read at the company website and from other bloggers (who, by the way, were offered the same products for review) were all quite favorable.  I decided to call in some help by offering a few packets to my friend, Bruce Conway, who is a long time outdoor enthusiast and prepper.

M.R.E.s – MEALS READY TO DEFEAT

When Gaye Levy, noted survival and preparedness writer, asked me to evaluate a couple of MRE meals (meals ready-to-eat) that had been given to her by mealkitsupply.com for evaluation, I eagerly agreed. I had been interested in trying MRE’s for years, but had not gotten around to trying or buying them.

In the past, I had good camping experiences with MountainHouse™ freeze dried meals, and had been assured that modern MREs were now even better.

MRE’s, I was told, had been improving steadily over the years in both quality and variety. So, I could be reasonable assured that these MREs would prove to be preferred forms of preparedness meals to flesh out my personal bug-out cache.

Unfortunately, my first experience with an MRE was not a good one.

Gaye provided me with two of the MRE packets for review. One was Chili with beans, and the other was Chicken Fajitas. Both sounded good.

The MREs, were made/distributed by one of the largest MRE manufacturers in the world; Meal Kit Supply.com, who proclaim their products to be “the gold standard” in the meals ready-to-eat industry. These are identical to the MREs supplied to the military of both Canada and the U.S.

As I pulled open the MRE bag and spilled the contents onto the table, I was at first impressed with the quantity of the sealed meal packs and extras in the bag which included a nonflammable meal pouch heater, beverages, dessert (pound cake), a moist towelette, plastic ware and condiments. It was like Christmas—military style, with an excessive amount of brown packaging.

When I trimmed the top of the flameless ration heater and poured the required two ounces of water into the bag to activate the heater, the reaction was instantaneous. It inflated the bag (which I had successfully wrapped quickly around two sealed entree pouches.) The steam scalded my hand, and caused mild asthma-like symptoms which lasted for about fifteen minutes.

The instructions caution using the ration heater with “adequate” ventilation, advising consumers to make the meal outdoors. The heaters are considered “safe to use, except when aboard aircraft.  To quote, “… the release of hydrogen gas from these flameless ration heaters is of a sufficient quantity to pose a potential hazard on board a passenger aircraft.”

O.K. I am now less than impressed, Strike one; toxic outgassing—hot steam and hydrogen. Strike two; an unbelievable amount of packaging and plastic trash.

The slim advantage of MRE “pros” versus “cons” was narrowing rapidly.

Then I ate the chicken fajitas. It was, at best, O.K. The Fajita meat and sauce were poured on top of the hot rice packet, with a couple of passable vacuum-packed flour tortillas. The rice heated unevenly, so some was underdone and hard. There are likely tricks to preparing these that I am unaware of.

Within 1/2 hour gastric distress began. My face got hot and flushed, stomach began twisting in knots. I didn’t get sick, exactly. It was some kind of toxic reaction.

Within an hour or so I knew that I had consumed a large dose of MSG. A similar thing had happened a year earlier when a manufacturer began adding MSG to a formerly MSG-free product. I kept eating it for several months, until symptoms similar to what the MRE caused showed up. I eventually re-read the product label and discovered the switch to MSG, and never ate that product again.

It turns out that most MREs are loaded with MSG (which has been linked to numerous diseases and conditions , in addition to being addictive), preservatives, artificial sweeteners, dyes, fillers, etc.

As these MRE’s are from Canada, and contain levels of MSG far beyond EPA suggestions, I suspect that some of these ingredients are actually manufactured in China, and only distributed by Meal Kit Supply. This is ONLY a suspicion on my part, and not backed up by evidence. But they “taste” like they are made in China.

It took a full week for my body to purge the MSG. During that time it ravaged my digestive track, requiring probiotics, hot cereal, yoghurt, and detoxification with lots of fluids. The excessive amount of MSG even anesthetized my urinary track, which was numb for several days.

When Gaye wrote the manufacture about my experience, they responded thus:

“As sorry as I am to hear you were ill, I don’t think our MREs were the cause: we have no preservatives or mystery chemicals in our product, and have never had issues with people getting sick after their consumption (they feed the troops after all — the government would throw a fit if their soldiers were getting sick!). Anyways, as it has already been 4 months and we continue to hit road bumps, it might be best to call off the review all together.”

To think that soldiers in the military are required to eat these day after day is mind-boggling. Most MRE reviews say that although tasty, MREs plug up the average digestive track in a week or two. Most eaters report distress after two to three days of MRE’s.

“Gulf War veterans are twice as likely to develop A.L.S. than those who did not serve.  These vets were all exposed to MSG by way of their MREs, or Meals-Ready-To-Eat.  The U.S. military has been adding MSG to MREs on purpose to make army rations more palatable.  MREs were actually required to contain a minimum amount of MSG up until very recently.

We have gotten new reports that fortunately, they are no longer using MSG in MREs. The intake of MSG by GIs in Iraq in particular, was compounded by the fact that diet drinks containing aspartame were also supplied to the troops – at the same time.  MSG and aspartame are more harmful together as research has shown (See Related Research).” – ( MSG, A.L.S., and Gulf War Vets – http://www.msgtruth.org/als.htm).

I would think that those relying on MREs during a disaster, or other large emergency, require food that is safe, nutritious and delicious. MRE meals from Meal Kit Supply may be edible, but they fall short in other regards: They are neither safe nor delicious. They are full of MSG and artificial sweeteners. They even loaded up the plain rice packet with MSG. Why would ordinary rice require MSG?

Get a clue Meal Kit Supply. Loading up your products with MSG and Aspartame may be legal, but it is highly unethical, as these chemicals used together contribute to many diseases and conditions. Get rid of them, and you will once again have a product to be proud of. Your competitors such as Mountain House, and Alpine Aire Foods are MSG free. Your products would be much improved by following their example.

To further investigate the hazards of the long-term consumption of MRE’s, go to:

Examining Typical Non-Organic MRE Ingredients & Why You Should Consider Making Your Own Healthy MREs

Respectfully,
W. Bruce Conway
www.noahs-archives.com

THE FINAL WORD

This article will not win any popularity contests with MRE distributors.  But it represents the truth as I see it and for that I will not apologize.  When I contacted Meal Kit Supply about the results of my testing, they asked me to call off the review but they did not scare me off.

As Bruce said to me, this is a story that needs to be told.

Click here to view the original article on backdoorsurvival.com

What’s your take on MRE’s as a survival staple?

But there are three things that also happen to be out enjoying the summer sun, that can quickly ruin any outdoor fun.

Not only that, but it can be everything to a minor annoyance to outright dangerous depending on your own reaction to it.

Check out this article from Dr.Bones over at doomandbloom.net to make sure that you keep yourself and your kids out of these nasty little summertime blues bringers:

In the Northern Hemisphere, warm weather is upon us and school is done for the summer.  As such, we can expect a lot more time in the outdoors for the average family.  Although this is ordinarily a healthy pursuit, there are circumstances where you will find that some things out there that present hazards that are difficult to avoid.

Unless you live in Alaska or Hawaii, a mountaintop, or the middle of the desert, the outdoors will have a population of poison ivy, poison oak, and/or poison sumac.  Once exposed to one or the other, 85% of the population will develop antibodies against it that will generate an itchy rash of varying degrees of severity.  Winter does not eliminate the possibility of a reaction, as you can react against even the dormant vines or shrubs.

The old saying goes: “Leaves of three, let it be”. Although it is true that poison ivy comes in “leaves of three”, so do many other plants. Familiarize yourself with what it looks like.

Poison Ivy

Poison ivy and poison oak are very similar, with the same chemical irritant, known as Urushiol. This irritant is an “allergen”, which is a substance that can cause your body to react against it when exposed. Poison ivy leaves may be pointier, with poison oak often looking more like, well, oak leaves (see images). One or both is present just about everywhere in the continental United States.

Poison Oak

Poison Sumac is a shrub or small tree, growing up to nearly 30 feet in height in parts of the Eastern United States. Each leaf has 7–13 pointy leaflets. Although poison sumac has the same irritant present in poison ivy and poison oak, it is far more powerful.  Simply inhaling smoke from burning poison sumac has been reported to cause death by suffocation.

Poison Sumac

All of these plants contain toxic oil that causes a reaction after the first sensitizing exposure. The oil is in just about every part of the plant:  The vines, leaves, and roots. Most people don’t know they have been exposed, even if they know how to identify the plant. Just think how difficult it is to be aware of every single plant you might come into contact with when you hike in the woods.  Also, many people are exposed indirectly; for example, by petting the fur of a pet that has been exposed.

The best prevention is to avoid getting the toxin on your skin.  If you can’t avoid exposure, here is advice before you head out into the woods:

• Long pants, long-sleeved shirts, work gloves, and boots are imperative if you’re doing work in areas known to have poison plants.
• Some recommend an over-the-counter lotion called Ivy Block as a preventative. Apply it like you would a sunblock to likely areas of exposure.  Theoretically, it will prevent the oil from being absorbed by your skin.

Unfortunately, many times people don’t identify the exposure before it’s too late. The rash takes from several hours to several days to become apparent.

Usually, you will notice:

• Itchiness where your skin was exposed to the plant.
• Red streaky rashes where the plant brushed against you.
• Small bumps or hives along with the redness.
• Occasional blistering.

Typical poison ivy rash

The rash usually appears in the first day or two after your contact with the Urushiol, although it may take longer in first exposures.  The rash will continue to appear to spread over several days, even if you stay indoors. The rash, however, is not contagious. The more allergen you come in contact with, the more severe your reaction. Severe reactions to smaller amounts of Urushiol may be seen in those who are highly sensitive.  Serious symptoms may include generalized swelling of just about anywhere on the body, including the genitals, and widespread blistering.

Extreme case of reaction to poison ivy

The resin or oil from the plant that causes the reaction will remain active even on your clothes, so thorough laundering will be required.  Routine body washing with soap will not be useful after 30 minutes of exposure, as your system will already be producing antibodies.  Hot water seems to help the oil absorb into the skin, so use only cold water early on.  After all the irritant has absorbed, however, hot water baths are actually recommended by some to relieve itching.

Cleansers that remove resin or oil such as Fels-Naptha soap or Tecnu Poison Oak and Ivy Cleanser are more effective than regular detergent and can be used even several hours after exposure. Rubbing alcohol is another reasonable option and easily carried as hand sanitizers or prep pads; it is, however, very drying to the skin.

The good news is that, even if you choose not to treat the rash, it will go away by itself over 2-3 weeks. The bad news is that it could be so itchy as to make you absolutely miserable. Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) at 25-50 mg dosages 4 times a day will be helpful in relieving the itching. It’s important to know that the 50mg dosage will make you drowsy. This may be an added benefit at night to help you sleep, but not if you are in any situation that requires alertness. Unfortunately, calamine lotion and hydrocortisone cream, old standbys, will probably not be very effective.

Severe rashes have been treated with the prescription Medrol dose pack, (a type of steroid known as Prednisone).  Prednisone is a strong anti-inflammatory drug and will be more effective in preventing the inflammatory reaction that your antibodies will cause. This medicine would be a useful addition to any medical supply list if obtainable.

Some astringent solutions such as Domeboro have been reported to give relief from the itching. The active ingredient is aluminum acetate, which is similar to the aluminum chlorohydrate in many antiperspirants.

There are several alternative treatments for poison ivy, oak and sumac:

• Cleansing the irritated area with apple cider vinegar
• Essential oils mixed with Aloe Vera gel, such as tea tree, lemon, lavender, peppermint, geranium, and chamomile.
• Baking soda paste
• Epsom salt baths.
• Jewel weed (mash and apply)
• Chamomile tea bag compresses

For those who prefer drinking their tea: Passion flower, skullcap, and chamomile are all thought to be soothing.

Click here to read the original article

No, this isn’t a trick question and I do think there are very big differences between someone who calls themselves a survivalist and someone who prefers to use the term Prepper.

Regardless of what I think though these two terms are interchangeably used to describe a wide swath of people.

These people all have different motivations and philosophies on what they are doing and why. Survivalists and Prepper are just labels.

Labels like this though can pigeon-hole people into thinking they need to act a certain way or it can cause assumptions from others based upon their own perceptions of what these words mean.

How are Survivalists and Preppers alike?

Let’s start with the easy stuff first. What do people who call themselves Survivalists have in common with a Prepper? I think at their core, Survivalists and Preppers both have a deep desire to live. This is not a fear of dying but rather a strong yearning to live life on their own terms.

You will find tenacity in both Preppers and Survivalists to try to see the options they have before them. If you give up easily or become defeated too quickly you probably don’t deserve to call yourself a member of either team just yet.

Both Survivalists and Preppers like to prepare for unforeseen events, but I do believe Survivalists have a slightly more cavalier attitude about their chances for survival.

Survivalists may give more weight to learning how to forage in the woods and eat grubs while their Prepper cousins might be more comfortable storing food to last as long as possible or creating a garden with heirloom seeds. The grub worms and fiddle-head fern salads can wait as long as possible, thank you.

Along with the desire to live I think Preppers and Survivalists both have a positive mental attitude towards overcoming obstacles when it comes to survival. They both hold a belief that with the right training, mental outlook and circumstances, no situation is ever more than they can bear.

I have spoken to a lot of people who seem to want to shut down in the face of adversity or impending doom. Their response to my questions about prepping are usually something like “well we are all gonna die anyway, so what’s the point?” and this is 180 degrees from how I think we as humans should be.

What if the early settlers of our country just said, “I quit.”? They faced starvation, disease, death on a daily basis and still managed to carve a country out of the wilderness with zero government assistance, WIC vouchers, National Healthcare, MRE’s, GPS, Bug Out vehicles or smart phones.

Do you think they had a desire to live and a positive mental attitude? We come from those same people who braved the elements, sailed across seas for months and landed in a foreign land with not much more than the clothes on their backs. They were the original Survivalists and Preppers and their blood runs through our veins.

How are they different?

As I said above, I think these terms get used interchangeably all of the time and in certain context the meaning may be blurred. For instance, there are a lot of websites that have Survival in the name that I look up to and respect greatly.

They offer a ton of useful information on Survival, and I have linked to several of them on our resources page. I am not referring to the word Survival here because I think we all want to survive something.

When I speak of “Survivalists” with a capital S I am referring to people who will label themselves as such. I think Survivalists lean more toward the ideal that Bear Grylls and Les Stroud have promoted with their respective TV shows showing how they both can survive in the wilderness on all manner of strange tricks and skills that the normal person would never be in a place to use.

I think some Survivalists see themselves as being deserted in a jungle somewhere with only a rusty coke can and a bandana to survive. Now, if this happens to you, would all of those Bear Grylls skills come in handy? Absolutely, but to base your entire understanding of the possibilities of what this life can throw at you on a couple of reality shows seems to miss the point to me.

To quote our current President, “Now, let me be clear” I love watching Bear Grylls and Les Stroud and other shows I can’t remember.

Those shows do pass along knowledge that you can use and this applies just as much to the suburban prepper as it does to the Survivalist. I just prefer to take that knowledge and try to apply it to a different potential reality.

Preppers on the other hand do not seem to have most of the same scenarios in mind when they are preparing for an uncertain future. Preppers typically have one or more situations they view as inevitable and they make plans to mitigate the bad effects you could be faced with in that situation.

For example, if a Prepper lived in Tornado alley, they would rightfully be concerned and their preps would almost certainly start with safety should a Tornado strike. They could go one past that and plan for survival after the tornado with food, water and shelter options that could help them and their neighbors in the days and weeks after any type of natural disaster like that.

Preppers also do not seem to make plans with only themselves involved. Preppers like to form groups and communities and try to get others involved, engaged and on-board when it is prudent to do so. I know there are survivalist groups as well, but they still seem to be more likely to want to be away from people before there is any actual need to.

Survivalists that I have run across definitely have a different way they present themselves when the subject of hypothetical grid-down scenarios are presented. I do get the sense that in some cases, they seem to have a “let them go to hell” mentality and I don’t think that is what Preppers would agree with on the surface.

Now, I will freely admit that I haven’t met everyone, don’t know what is in anyone’s heart but mine and I could be very guilty of gross stereotyping here. If that is the case I apologize and I would love to hear your side in the comments below. I am not trying to pick a fight, just comparing and contrasting some people/themes based upon my observations.

Lastly, Preppers seem to be looking for a lifestyle change on top of their preparations. Eating more Organic food, living healthier lives, becoming more self-sufficient are common themes and this transcends any natural disaster. It shows a desire to have a better life and that is something I think we could all use.

Which one is best?

I don’t think it is as black and white as I have made it out to be in the paragraphs above. I certainly think that if the SHTF we would all be in for a huge reality check and there is no telling how we each might act. Who knows what type of situations we may be faced with and what will be necessary in order to live and keep our families safe. We might all end up being in the same boat, bashing each other over the head with the last broken oar. I hope not.

I like to identify with Preppers, but I do know that if faced with certain triggers, I might fall squarely into the Survivalist camp that I was painting with a broad brush a little earlier. I guess we are just two sides of the same coin, but we are both made of the same mettle. I don’t think there is anything wrong with that at all.

Read the original article.

What do you think?

Are Preppers and Survivalists different?

Or are they one and the same?

But only recently has it become something that is “affordable” to the general public.

I say affordable in quotation marks, simply because a good solar unit is still an expensive item to put into your survival cache.

For all intents and purposes, it is a passive item, that you will charge up once or twice a year and never use.

But should you ever be stuck in a situation where the grid goes down and you need power… you will be mighty glad you have it on hand.

I have been interested in getting a solar generator for quite some time.

I just couldn’t ever dig in to my pockets deep enough to doll out the cash to get one.

Thanks to my friends over at survivalbased.com that is no longer an issue.

They are offering a special sale on a Solar Generator Kit- just for Survival Life members ( be sure to use the coupon code!)

But if you want one of these unit’s you’ll have to snag one quickly, they only have a few of them and they will not be available after June 3o.

Now, Normally I try to  keep this section focused on items that everyone can afford… but I felt that this deal was too good to pass up.

(If you are in the market for a solar generator be sure you check this one out, and make sure you use this special coupon code, just for the Survival Life community, to get 20% off the order!)

Coupon Code: SurvivalLife20   (and it looks like they are offering free shipping on it!)

I was checking out the generator that they have to offer from Humless and they were kind enough to send one out to me to test out.

Now I have said it once before, and I will say it again, I am no expert when it comes to solar power, 9 times out of 10 I find a way to shock myself when doing anything with electricity…

But check out this great review that I found on the same unit that I have!  This guy goes into really good detail on all of the bells and whistles that come with the kit:

I have had the unit for a couple of weeks now and so far I have found it to be quite a nice, reliable piece of equipment.

This thing also comes with  TON of bells and whistles included:

This kit contains the following items

• 600 Watt Fuel-Less Generator
• 100 W Foldable Solar Panel
• AC Power Cord
• Hand Crank Charger
• 12VDC Extension cord (20 Ft.)
• Universal Cell Phone Charger
• USB Led Glow 1 W Light
• 2 – Master Control Keys
• 1 – EMP3 Protection Bag
• 1 – 12-Volt Electric Blanket
• 1 – 20′ 12-Volt Extension Cord
• 1 – Solar Generator instructional DVD

The good:

Multiple Charging options- you can charge it fully in about 3.5 hours from a standard wall outlet; you can use the included solar panels and get a charge in about 6 hours of full sun; or you can plug in the hand crank and about 20 minutes of good, solid cranking will give you 2 hours worth of a charge.  ( I’m trying to find a way to rig the crank up to a bicycle or ta stationary bike to make cranking a bit easier)

4 usb plugs and 2 120 volt outlets let you power multiple small items, charge cellphones, run radio,s etc

The kit comes fully decked out with just about everything you need to stay powered up should the grid go down

Weight- I struggled on whether or not to put this in the good or the bad section.  The battery itself comes in at a hefty 40lbs, but when you compare this to a few other comparable models (like the Goal Zero Yeti 1250 kit, which weighs in at a hefty 103 lbs) the weight of the Humless unit pales in comparison.

Charging cycles- the Humless unit runs on Lithium batteries which can boast a life cycle of up to 2000 charges.  Most common lead acid batteries are lucky to get  400 charges before needed to be replaced.  The lithium batteries only need to be charged every 10 months vs the Goal Zero which needs a charge once every 3-4 months.

The Bad:

Bulk- Again I struggled on where to put this,  while the humless unit is much lighter it is still to heavy to be carried for any long distance in a bug out situation.

Price- This is the biggest factor that keeps most people from ever getting their hands on a solar charging unit.  Now you can get smaller and lower quality units and they MAY work ( or they could set something on fire….) or if you have the ability and know-how, you can build your own.  But if you do choose to purchase a solar unit, this is one instance where the term “you get what you pay for,” can’t be stressed enough.

The Humless unit does come in at around $2,600 for the full kit ( or if you want just the battery bank and have your own solar panels and other accessories, you can pick up the bank by itself for just under $2,000).

The Bottom Line:

I know this is a steep price to pay for what seems like just a big cluster of batteries, but when TSHTF and the power goes out for more than a few hours, what is the price in knowing that you can have at least some of your normal day comforts when no one else will…

Don’t forget to use the  coupon code: SurvivalLife20

Remember if you want to snag one of these kits and save over $500.00 off the normal price you have to do it now. They only have a few of these left and after June 30 they will deactivate the coupon code and the unit will be made unavailable.

Grab One Today!

If you already have a wheat grinder, we highly recommend you check out our recent newsletter on 17 Ways to Use a Wheat Grinder for lots of ideas on how to use wheat and other grains and legumes (you can subscribe to receive future newsletters at that link as well). If you don’t have a wheat grinder, read on for 7 great ways you can use wheat WITHOUT a wheat grinder!

1. Thermos Wheat

Bring 1 c. of wheat kernels, 2 c. water, and 1 t. salt to a boil in a medium saucepan. Pour into a heated stainless steel or glass-lined thermos bottle. Secure cap. Place bottle on side. In the morning, pour off any additional water, add butter and honey, and serve hot.

2. Cooked Wheat Berries

Add some of your plain dry wheat kernels to a pot of water. Bring it to a boil and cook for a few minutes. Then let simmer for about 45 minutes. Drain the wheat berries and stick them in a tupperware container in the fridge. These are delicious to add to yogurt or to use to replace some meat in recipes. You can also use it in place of brown rice in a lot of recipes.

3. Popped Wheat

Take 1 cup of your cooked wheat berries (see above) and add to a frying pan of pot with two tablespoons of oil in it. Cover with a lid and cook over a hot stove shaking the pan while it cooks. After about 4-5 minutes the kernels will be nice and toasted. Put the popped wheat on a paper towel to get the extra oil off, and sprinkle with your choice of seasonings. Try it with salt, seasoned salt, garlic, barbecue salt, onion salt, cinnamon and sugar or any combination you desire. These are delicious on salads as a topping, mixed with trail mix, or as toppings for a desserts or just as a healthy snack.

4. Wheat Grass

Most people have heard how healthy wheat grass is for you, but most people DON’T know that you can make your own wheat grass at home for free with just a little bit of your food storage wheat. Check out this step by step tutorial on How to Grow Wheat Grass if you want to try it yourself! It is so easy and fun to do with the kids. Then you can snip bits off and add them to your fruit smoothies, or if you have a juicer you can use them in other healthy juice drinks.

5. Cracked Wheat

You can crack wheat in a blender or a coffee grinder. To do it in a blender you simply put in about 1/4-1/3 cups of wheat and pulse it until it looks like little cracked kernels. These kernels will cook much faster than regular wheat, and cook up in the same way that you cook rice on the stove or in the microwave. You can use cracked wheat to make hot cereal, add it into bread, or cook it up and use as a meat filler.

6. Wheat Sprouts

Making wheat sprouts is a different method than making wheat grass. You can sprout wheat just like any other vegetable seeds, legumes, or other grains. Make sure to review our tutorial on how to grow sprouts. Most people like wheat sprouts to be very small, just barely sprouted. These are delicious to throw on salads or to add into your whole wheat bread for a little extra texture and flavor.

7. Blender Wheat Flour

If you are cooking a recipe for something like pancakes or waffles, you can EASILY use your whole wheat kernels, mix the whole recipe in your blender, and pour it straight from there onto a griddle or waffle-maker. Just make sure to add the liquid for your recipe into the blender, then add in your wheat kernels and blend for about 5 minutes. Then add the rest of the ingredients.

Click here to view the original article

Please note: Don’t go trying all of these ideas all at once! If you add TOO MUCH wheat into your diet TOO FAST it can give you digestion problems, and we promise you don’t want to have that.

Check out the article below that shows how one Houston town ( and many others in the works) plan to stave off crime rates by training and arming its citizens for free.

Houston resident Cheryl Strain’s inexperience with guns was apparent as she struggled to load shells into a 20-gauge shotgun.

Over the piercing blasts of gunfire in the shooting range, Strain’s instructor, Dan Blackford, patiently directed her on how to use her thumb to shove a shell all the way inside the barrel and feel it click.

“Now we got a round in the chamber ready to go,” Blackford said as he positioned her body on the right way to hold the shotgun. “Look down your sight, put that BB right in the middle of your target and press the trigger.”

Strain’s northwest Houston community of Oak Forest is the first neighborhood in the country being trained and equipped by the Armed Citizen Project, a Houston nonprofit that is giving away free shotguns to single women and residents of neighborhoods with high crime rates.

While many cities have tried gun buy-backs and other tactics in the ongoing national debate on gun control, the nonprofit and its supporters say gun giveaways to responsible owners are actually a better way to deter crime. The organization, which plans to offer training classes in Dallas, San Antonio, and Tucson, Ariz., in the next few weeks, is working to expand its giveaways to 15 cities by the end of the year, including Chicago and New York.

But others in Houston, while expressing support for Second Amendment rights, question whether more guns will result in more gun-related deaths rather than less crime.

Residents of Oak Forest say their neighborhood, made up of older one-story houses and a growing number of new townhomes, has experienced a recent rash of driveway robberies and home burglaries. On a recent Sunday afternoon, a group of 10 residents, including Strain, went through training at Shiloh Shooting, a northwest Houston gun range.

Kyle Coplen, the project’s 29-year-old founder said his group expects to train at least 50 Oak Forest residents and put up signs saying the neighborhood is armed.

“When we have a crime wave, we don’t just say let’s just increase police and that’s all we do. We do multiple things. I see this as one aspect of what we can do,” said Coplen, who graduated from the University of Houston with a master’s degree in public administration.

It costs the organization about $300 to arm and train an individual and about $20,000 for an entire neighborhood. All costs are paid through donations, said Coplen, though he declined to say how much his organization has raised so far.

While some residents in the neighborhood are supportive, several officials have mixed feelings about it.

Sandra Keller, Strain’s neighbor, said she is participating in part because of the helplessness she felt after her furniture store was robbed a couple of years ago.

“If you don’t have a gun, you’re just a walking victim. You’re just waiting for somebody to take advantage of you and your property,” said Keller, 64, after practicing at the shooting range.

But Houston City Councilwoman Ellen Cohen, who represents Oak Forest, said, “I have serious concerns about more guns in homes.”

Cohen said she supports Second Amendment rights and believes that such a responsibility should include proper training and background checks.

David Hemenway, a professor of health policy and management at the Harvard School of Public Health who has written about firearms and health, said studies suggesting gun ownership deters crime have been refuted by many others that say the opposite.

“Mostly what guns seem to do is make situations more lethal because most crime has nothing to do with guns,” he said. “When there is a gun in the mix, there is much more likely to be somebody dying or somebody incredibly hurt.”

Proponents of increased gun ownership point to a variety of statistics to support their argument, including ones showing that some cities with strict gun control laws, like Chicago, still have high murder rates.

Blackford, the firearm instructor in the Oak Forest training, said the group is teaching residents not only how to handle and store a weapon but also when to use deadly force.

“The sad part is most people think if you’re pro-gun, that you’ve got this gunslinger attitude, that you are walking around looking for a gun fight to get into and that is so far from the truth,” said Blackford, a former Secret Service agent.

Harris County Precinct One Constable Alan Rosen, whose deputies patrol Oak Forest, said that while he believes the best deterrent to crime is effective neighborhood watch programs, he believes people should have the right to protect themselves.

“In terms of having a shotgun, after you’ve been properly trained on it, to have that in your home to protect your home, I’m for it,” he said.

Strain, 46, a single mother who has never owned a gun, said she was nervous firing the shotgun but that more training will help. She also had her 12-year-old son Rory practice firing the shotgun so “if God forbid something happens, he could be prepared as well.”

via Free gun initiative begins in Houston neighborhood – Yahoo! News.

What do you think?  Is this something that will work?

Probably Not… but it is still funny that Actor Peter Mayhew would be held up from boarding his plane because of his lightsaber…er cane.

Check out the article below

Not even Chewbacca and his light saber get a free pass with airport security before being cleared to travel.

Transportation Security Administration agents in Denver briefly stopped “Star Wars” franchise actor Peter Mayhew recently as he was boarding a flight with a cane shaped like one of science-fiction’s most iconic weapons.

Airport officials say they wanted to inspect the huge walking stick before allowing Mayhew, who is more than 7 feet tall, on the plane.

Mayhew tweeted “Giant man need giant cane” from his verified Twitter account when the incident happened June 3. He also posted photos showing a TSA agent holding the replica laser sword, which comes up to his chest.

Many subsequent media reports made it seem as though security officials buckled to pressure from Chewie’s fans in allowing the actor to board the flight to Dallas with the cane, but officials say that characterization is inaccurate.

“Because of the unusual weight of the passenger’s cane, a security officer alerted a supervisor. Less than five minutes later the passenger and cane were cleared to travel. Social media played no role in the determination,” the TSA said in a brief statement released to The Associated Press on Saturday.

There was no word on whether agents were initially suspicious that Chewie had a weapon more commonly associated with other “Star Wars” characters, including Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader and Yoda.

Attempts to contact Mayhew, 69, for comment — or roar — were not immediately successful.

Check out the article of inquiry below:

That is one MASSIVE walking stick

via TSA agents stop Chewbacca actor over light saber – Yahoo! News.

But It never fails that, for whatever reason, when you need something the most is when you never have it.

Whether you are stuck in the woods, or stuck on the side of the road and just need to tie something down, the right length of cordage can really make your life a lot easier.

So what do you do when you have a piece of paracord that is too long and needs to be trimmed up, but you’re left high and dry, without your knife?

My Buddy Javan has the answer.

Check out this neat little trick he has to help us out:

What other ways can you think of to make due when you don’t have the tools you need to get things done?

But when it comes down to it you need something that is going to work and do the job it was intended for without fail.

I wanted to take a moment and talk to you a little about a piece of equipment that is so small and inexpensive that it is forgotten about more often than not.

With school being out and summer camping season hitting full swing, it is more important now than ever to have a good whistle in your gear.

When you’re stuck in the sticks and the cell phone doesn’t work, the batteries on your walkie-talkie run out, and you’re otherwise SOL, the only communication you have goes about as far as you can throw your voice.

With all the technology that we have available to us, a good whistle has become a relic to many a hikers gear.

But I have to tell you, in my opinion, not having a whistle in your kit is about one of the dumbest things you can do…

They are cheap, take minimal (read as no) energy to use, and massively increase the range at which you can be heard when you need to be found.

These are an absolute imperative to string around your kids necks when you take them out for a family camping trip or even just a day hike.

So many people grab those little 5 in one or 7 in one  “survival whistles” and think that they are set…

You know the ones.

They are orange, have a “fire starter” that falls off the first time you strike it.

They have a “signal mirror” not much bigger than a dime.

Maybe a compass on one end and a waterproof storage compartment inside them.

Now I’m not knocking them, because they will work if need be.

But I think something a little more dedicated is in order…

I told you they were cheap…

A lot of times this style of whistle is even given away as a freebie when you buy something, or as a hand out at trade shows.

I have found that if you take away all the bells and whistles ( no pun intended) that some of the other, more expensive options have, This flat piece of plastic blows them out of the water.

They fit just about anywhere and are extremely loud.

Do yourself a favor, get one of these, either from the link I posted above or anywhere else, and keep them on you at all times when you’re out in the sticks.

One downfall with these is that many of them don’t float, I would recommend hooking them to something that isn’t going to sink if it falls off of you while you happen to be in the water.

And remember the universal audible for SOS is three short bursts, 3 long bursts, and 3 short bursts again.

Using a whistle will save your voice from going hoarse and could just save your life.